Heart of Glass, Heart of Stone
by ParisWriter
Summary: She fell in love with him at first sight, but he prefers to keep himself walled off from others. Can she find a way to break through his cool exterior, or will the only thing broken be her heart? (Kyouya/OC, Tamaki/Haruhi)
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Some of you might recognize this story. I had previously posted it under a different user name on here, but since I'm working on consolidating all of my fanfiction under a single account (see my profile for more information) that old version has been scrapped in favor of this new posting.

Just a friendly warning, in case you missed it in the summary: This fic contains a Kyouya x OC pairing. Don't like it? Then just kindly click on that little back arrow up there. Still here? In that case, I invite you to enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club or any of its characters or settings. I wish I did, though, because then I could be in the center of a Hitachiin sandwich... yum!

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><p><span>Chapter One<span>

One could barely tell it was a library, with all the chattering going on. Of course, in a school like Ouran High, talking was one of the most popular student past-times. The girls bragged about the new designer handbags they bought while the boys bragged about the companies they would one day inherit, while_all _the students shared in a love for gossip. For most people, the constant din would make it hard to get any studying done at all, but there were those who had learned to tune out the annoying voices who didn't understand that a library was supposed to be a quiet place to read and study.

Miku Hirosaka was one of those few. A second-year student at Ouran, she had yet to fall prey to the prattle bug. She assumed it was thanks in part to her family's humble beginnings. They were what was known as "new money": A family with no prestige who had just recently acquired their fortune. Because they spent most of their life as "non-rich" people, she had attended public schools through junior high. But when it came time for her to enter high school, her father insisted on her attending nothing less than the best, most elite school in Japan... which happened to be Ouran High.

Of course, Miku had her own theories about why none of the other students had invited her into their social circles. She was a bit on the shy side, and intimidated by the wealth of the other students, in spite of the fact that she was just as wealthy as any of them, now. She also missed a lot of school for personal reasons that, thankfully, the superintendent seemed to understand.

There were, of course, rumors circulating around the school about her. This she knew, because the gossips were never concerned with keeping their voices down when they discussed the latest rumors. Some people thought her father was a professional hitman who had to flee the country so he couldn't be arrested for some high-profile murder. Others were convinced _she_ was the assassin, and that was why she missed so much school. No one ever bothered to ask her directly, though. But she really didn't mind. She actually found the rumors to be quite amusing, at times, and as long as people stayed out of her _real_ personal life, she could deal with a few ridiculously far-fetched stories.

Sighing to herself, she continued reading the article she had found in the latest edition of the Journal of Cardiology and Vascular Medicine. She had to admit, Ouran had one of the most extensive medical libraries she had ever seen – likely due to the fact that all three sons of the Ootori Medical Group's chairman, Yoshio Ootori, had attended Ouran. While the eldest two had already graduated, the youngest was in the same year as her, though in a different section.

One of the paragraphs in the article caught her attention, and she re-read it aloud under her breath, scribbling the information down in her notebook before checking the citation at the bottom of the page.

"Strategic Approaches in Coronary Intervention by Stephen G. Ellis," she said to herself, committing the name and author of the book to memory. Closing the journal, she got up from her seat and made her way to the second floor of the library, where the medical texts were kept, stopping briefly at the card catalog along the way.

"For a school with so much money, you would think they would have computers to look stuff up on," she muttered as she flipped through the cards, looking for the number of the book she was searching for. Once she found it, she quickly jotted it down on a pad of paper sitting on top of the large bank of small wooden drawers and tore the top piece of paper off before climbing the stairs to the second floor.

Clutching the paper in her hands, she checked it against the numbers posted on the end of each row of books until she came to the correct section, then turned and made her way through the stacks in search of her desired text.

"617.412 ELL," she repeated over and over as she checked the spines of the books, stopping about halfway down the aisle. She kneeled down and began reading the numbers aloud to herself.

"617.412 ASY, 617.412 DER..." her voice trailed off as she reached the final book on the bottom shelf. Sighing heavily, she looked up at the top shelf of the next section.

"Figures," she mumbled, standing back up and looking around for something to stand on. Her eyes fell on a ladder hooked to a track above the bookcases, and she smiled at her sudden change in fortune. Walking back to the end of the aisle, she grabbed the ladder and slid it along the track until it was standing before the books she had just examined, then climbed to the top to examine the books on the top shelf of the next section.

"617.412... ELL," she called in a quiet, sing-song voice while examining the numbers on the spines. "There!"

With the book in sight, she reached out to take it from the shelf and found her fingers falling a few inches short. Frowning a bit, she grasped the sides of the ladder and began hopping, shimmying the ladder closer bit by bit. After a couple of inches she stopped and again tried the reach the book. This time her fingertips managed to make contact with the top of the spine before falling away uselessly.

"Come on, you son of a bitch," she growled, standing on her tip-toes and stretching her arm as far as she could as she made another attempt to remove the book from its shelf. She felt the book starting to come loose from the others around it and grinned triumphantly, but her smile fell when she felt her foot starting to slip off the ladder. At the very moment she finally had the book in her hand, she lost her balance and fell from the top of the ladder, heading for the floor several feet below.

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><p>Kyouya Ootori glanced at his watch as he casually wandered through the stacks in the medical section of the Second Reading Room, sighing when he realized he had to get to the Host Club. He enjoyed his time spent there, but a part of him wished Tamaki would learn to take more responsibility. He was only the vice president, after all, whereas Tamaki was the president and therefore should be the one in control and in charge – not him. Although, the fact that he worked so hard to keep the club afloat and running smoothly did provide him with an excuse to forgo catering to the ladies on the occasions that he just didn't feel like it.<p>

Sighing again, he placed the medical journal he had been reading – the one he _wanted_ to read had already been checked out – into his briefcase, and tucked his notebook full of information for the Host Club under his arm, then began his slow retreat away from the sanctuary of the corner table on the second floor. His only respite lay in the comforting knowledge that today was not one of Tamaki's so-called "theme days." Aside from that, he could only hope that the afternoon would go smoothly and without incident.

"Come on, you son of a bitch."

The voice interrupted his thoughts as he rounded the corner of one of the stacks of books, and his eyes fell upon a girl with mousy brown hair who was feebly attempting to reach a book on the top shelf. Kyouya smirked a bit at her choice of words, thinking how unbecoming it was for a young lady of high social standing to use such language. He was about to offer to help her retrieve the book when she suddenly lost her balance and toppled backwards off the ladder. Without a second thought, he dropped his things and lunged forward, holding out his arms to catch her.

Luckily, he had always had quick reflexes, and managed to prevent her from falling to the floor. Though the force of her body falling into his arms sent him stumbling backwards into the shelves of books, he still managed to keep his own balance. Sighing in relief at the averted tragedy, he looked down and found her clutching a book to her chest, her eyes tightly squeezed shut as if bracing herself for the impact of her fall.

"Are you alright?" he asked, chuckling a bit.

The girl gasped in surprise and looked up at him with soft brown eyes, taking a few moments to register exactly what had happened before nodding slightly.

"Yes, thank you," she replied quietly, still holding onto the book in her arms for dear life.

Kyouya nodded as he set her down on her feet, her long brown hair brushing against his nose and tickling it nearly to the point of sneezing. He couldn't help but notice her perfume due to their closeness, a mixture of roses and cherry blossoms, and almost laughed at how contradictory it was that someone with her kind of language would wear something that smelled so utterly feminine. He didn't try to understand it, though. He would never fully understand women, no matter how hard he tried, even if he _was_ the top student in his class.

"Do be a little more careful in the future," Kyouya admonished her. "I can't always be here to catch you."

He offered her a gentle smile and she merely stared at him like a star-struck fangirl for several seconds before finally blushing and turning her head down to stare at her toes.

"Sorry," she apologized, her voice still registering barely above a whisper, and bowed deeply to him. "Thank you, again."

Kyouya nodded, his smile turning to a bit of a smirk, and watched as she straightened her posture and scurried off with her book held tightly to her chest. Curious, he glanced up to where the volume had been and discovered it was a book about cardiology.

"So _that's _who had the latest issue of the Journal of Cardiology and Vascular Medicine checked out," he said to himself as he walked back to where he had dropped his things in his haste to break the girl's fall.

Bending down, he picked up his notebook and began flipping through the student dossiers he kept at the front, searching for the girl's picture. He knew she looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place a name with her face. After completely going through the freshman class, he finally found her part-way into the junior class files.

"Miku Hirosaka," he read aloud to himself. "Second year, section B. Ranked third in her year. Family became rich practically overnight three years ago when her father's IT company went public. Father now resides in Los Angeles, where the company's base of operations is located. Decided to remain in Japan with her mother. Excellent grades, horrible attendance record." He hummed a little to himself as he closed the notebook with in one hand. "I wonder why Suou allows her to get away with missing so many classes. Ah, well."

Pushing the question to the back of his mind, he picked up his briefcase and continued on his way to the Third Music Room. After all, it wouldn't look good for the most responsible member of the Host Club to be late.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Miku braced herself for the fall, closing her eyes tightly as she prepared for a rather painful impact that somehow never came. Instead, she felt herself make contact with something considerably softer, and... warm?

"Are you alright?" a smooth voice asked her, accompanied by a masculine laugh.

After a moment, she opened her eyes and found herself staring into the handsomest face she had ever seen. His eyes were a dark grey, framed by a fashionable pair of glasses, his black hair falling slightly across his forehead. In contrast, he possessed flawlessly fair skin. If not for the bright blue of his school blazer, he would have seemed entirely monochromatic.

"Yes, thank you," she replied once she was finally able to speak again, her voice sounding quiet even to her. She tightly gripped the book in her arms, just now realizing that she had actually been successful in retrieving it from the top shelf, and found her breath catching in her throat as she continued staring at him.

With the barest of nods, the boy carefully set her on her feet, and Miku shivered slightly when his warm breath brushed against the side of her neck as he straightened his posture. Once standing, she noticed that he was several inches taller than her, with a lean physique that belied his actual strength.

"Do be a little more careful in the future. I can't always be here to catch you."

He spoke with the tone of a parent calmly scolding a child, a small smile curving his lips, and she suddenly lost the ability to speak. She found herself mentally running through the names she had heard in others' conversations, trying to put one with the face she just couldn't tear her eyes away from. She had a nagging feeling she should _know _who he was, because the way he carried himself suggested he was a _very_ important person, but she was drawing a complete blank.

Realizing she was staring at him, she quickly averted her eyes downward as she felt her cheeks starting to burn red.

"Sorry," she apologized again, as much for staring at him as for forcing him to break her fall. Remembering her manners, she gave him a low bow in gratitude for saving her. "Thank you, again."

Not wanting to embarrass herself further, she quickly made her way out from between the stacks and back down to the lower level of the library and over to the table she had been sitting at. Sighing deeply, she set the book down next to her things and sat in her chair, picking up her pen once more in preparation of taking notes as she continued reading.

Much to her dismay, however, Miku found that she could no longer concentrate on the article she had been reading. Instead, her mind kept wandering to the face of the young man who had rescued her. She was disturbed by the fact that she felt she had somehow seen him before, but what bothered her even more was how fast her heart was still beating. She knew she should have already come down off the adrenaline high caused by falling off that ladder, so the only explanation for her current state was...

_No, that's impossible_, she told herself, shaking her head. _Things like that only happen in shoujo mangas and fairy tales._

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then looked down at the medical journal before her, forcing herself to focus on the task at hand. Her resolve was broken, however, when a sudden chorus of shrieks rang out from somewhere nearby. Miku raised her head, turning to glare in the general direction of a group of girls who were huddled together, hands clasped beneath their chins as they gazed longingly at something with identical grins on their faces.

"Kyouya-sama!" one of the girls gasped as she swooned, falling into the arms of another girl who was standing behind her.

"Kyouya?" Miku repeated under her breath. "Kyouya Ootori?"

She turned farther in her seat, following the gaze of the girls across the way, and found herself coming face-to-face once again with the boy who had caught her upstairs. Suddenly, everything fell into place. He had seemed familiar because she once met his father, who he bore a slight resemblance to. It also explained why he was skulking around in the medical section when none of the other students ever set foot up there.

Kyouya gave her a slight nod as he walked past her table en route to the exit, and Miku felt her heart beating in her ears. The group of girls squealed in delight and rushed over to her, putting her in the very unwanted center of attention. All of them began talking at once, spouting gibberish about how lucky she was, that he hardly ever acknowledged anyone like that, and wanting to know how well she knew him.

"_Ano_..." she said, trying to get a word in edgewise. "Why are you girls so obsessed with him?"

"Because," replied one of the girls, a slightly overweight brunette, "he is the most sophisticated member of the Host Club."

"You mean to tell me that Kyouya Ootori is a member of the _Host _Club?" Miku asked in disbelief. Even if she didn't participate in the social scene at Ouran, she had heard more than enough about the Host Club from listening in on conversations between the other girls in her class. The club had been founded the previous year by the superintendent's son, and seemed to cater to mostly boy-crazy girls with no real social life. Miku found it hard to believe that a son of the Ootori family would willingly participate in such a juvenile past-time.

"He's not _just_ a member," another one of the girls – a tall, willowy redhead – answered, looking as if Miku had just said something horribly insulting. "He's the vice president."

"Is that so?" Miku mused, looking in the direction of the exit as the girls started talking all at once again about how wonderful Kyouya was and how much they wanted to marry him.

She had never had any interest in the so-called Host Club before, and had no intention of setting foot in the place. But a little voice in the back of her head was compelling her to go check it out, just once.

_If nothing else, it would be an excuse to see Kyouya again. You'd like that, wouldn't you?_

Ignoring the insane urges of her conscience, she stood from her seat and began packing up her things. The other girls didn't even notice as she walked away from them and went to the main desk to check out her book before heading home for the day.

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><p>Kyouya was in a good mood as he reached the Third Music Room. Aside from the little spectacle in the library, his walk had been blissfully quiet. It gave him time to think, which was something he rarely had time to do nowadays, with the growing pressure from his father to prove his worth. As the third son, it was even harder for him. He didn't have everything cut out for him like his older brothers did.<p>

Even his time at the Host Club – which should have been enjoyable, as an extra-curricular activity – was spent analyzing data and implementing various strategies. Everything from event planning to derailing conflicts fell upon his shoulders. Tamaki _did_ help, on occasion, but the majority of the work ultimately became his responsibility. However, he enjoyed it, as much as he let others believe he didn't. Tamaki really _was_ a good friend, and bringing a smile to the idiot's face gave him a sense of accomplishment that he hadn't yet achieved elsewhere.

Sighing a bit to himself, Kyouya stopped outside the Third Music Room and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose before opening the door and stepping inside. As expected, he was the first to arrive, and the room was still dark. He set his things down at his usual table, pulling his laptop out of his briefcase and turning it on before going over to the windows and opening the curtains. Sunlight filled the room, instantly turning it into a cheerful, hospitable setting.

"Kyouya!"

Kyouya turned around and found Tamaki bounding toward him at full speed, waving about some sort of flyer. He sighed deeply, knowing this was bound to be the start of another one of the president's crazy plans.

"Kyouya, look!" Tamaki insisted, shoving the flyer into his face. Kyouya leaned back a bit, adjusting his glasses as he glanced at the informational pamphlet about something called a Renaissance Faire.

"What is the meaning of this, Tamaki?" he asked sternly, raising an eyebrow at the blonde.

"We should do this!" Tamaki exclaimed, hugging the flyer to his chest. "It'll be fun! We can all dress up like knights, except Haruhi will be a princess, and we'll have a jousting tournament and food and games and prizes!"

"What are you going on about, _Tono_?" the twins asked in unison as they walked in and came over to stand on either side of Kyouya.

Tamaki pulled open the pamphlet in his hands, showing them the colorful photographs of people dressed in medieval clothing participating in various events.

"I've never seen anything like this before," Kaoru commented, pointing to a picture of a man sticking a flaming torch into his mouth.

"Where on Earth do you find these things?" Hikaru added, scratching his head.

"The Internet," Tamaki answered proudly. "I was up all night searching for ideas for a festival and came across a site full of information on these faires. Apparently, they're very popular in America, with some of the attendees even dressing up in appropriate costumes and participating in the tournaments. Ah! Here... I had copies printed up for each of you."

He pulled several more copies of the flyer out from behind his back and passed them around to the three of them, watching expectantly for their reactions.

"It could be fun," Hikaru commented, looking at his brother.

"Maybe we could have some sort of royal ball at the end," Kaoru suggested. They both turned to Kyouya for his decision, knowing that _he _would have the final say even if he was only the vice president.

Kyouya sighed deeply, closing his eyes and pressing two fingers to the bridge of his glasses. Tamaki was enough of a nuisance whenever he got one of his crazy ideas in his head, but now the twins were ganging up on him, too. If he didn't give in to their frivolous demands, he would have to listen to them whine and complain while Tamaki sulked in a corner.

"Very well," he begrudgingly agreed. "I will begin making plans for the event."

The other three cheered triumphantly, the sound visibly startling Haruhi as she approached them.

"Um... _senpai_?" she addressed Kyouya, who was the only person in the room not gleefully dancing around like a complete buffoon.

"Haruhi!" Tamaki exclaimed, waving about a flyer in front of her. "Look! We're going to put on our own Renaissance Faire! And you get to be a princess! Isn't that exciting?"

"Why do I _always_ have to dress up like a girl whenever we have a special event?" she asked, glaring at the blonde, who was bouncing excitedly on the balls of his feet as he stared at her with a goofy grin on his face – no doubt imagining what she would look like dressed up as a princess.

"You _are_ a girl, you know," Kyouya pointed out to her with a smirk.

"I _know_ that," Haruhi spat, frustrated. "But don't you think that if you guys keep insisting on dressing me up like a girl, then _someone_ will eventually catch on and figure out I really _am_ a girl?"

Tamaki suddenly fell very still, his smile disappearing as a worried look crossed over his face.

"She has a point, _Tono_," Hikaru pointed out, placing a hand on his left shoulder.

"It's surprising no one has figured it out already," Kaoru added, his hand on Tamaki's right shoulder.

Tamaki stared at Haruhi, his eyes filling with tears, and suddenly gripped her shoulders tightly, bending down so his face was level with hers.

"Haruhi, Daddy is sorry for not doing a better job of protecting you," he told her. "He just wanted to help your natural beauty shine."

Hikaru and Kaoru exchanged a look over Tamaki's head. They both knew he had a thing for Haruhi, and that he actually enjoyed seeing her dressed up like a girl. They couldn't blame him, though. They rather enjoyed her feminine side, too.

"If you could kindly cease with your theatrics," Kyouya admonished him, "I believe we have preparations to make before our customers arrive."

Haruhi removed Tamaki's hands from her shoulders and started walking away from them all, ignoring the pathetic whimpering of the Host Club's self-appointed "king."

"I'll start making the tea," she muttered as she began setting up various tea cups on the silver trays that were reserved for serving their customers.

"Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai are picking up a selection of cakes on their way here," Kyouya informed her. "Be sure you leave room for them."

Haruhi nodded in understanding, adding plates for the pieces of cake to each tray along with the tea cups. Kyouya watched her like a hawk to see if she broke anything, fully prepared to add the cost of replacing any damaged tableware to her list of debts.

"Kyouya," Tamaki called, drawing his attention. "The twins just had a wonderful idea."

"Our mother can design the costumes," they said in unison.

"And we can have her make extras..." Kaoru started.

"...so the customers can dress up and have pictures taken with us," Hikaru finished.

"Of course, you'll probably want to charge them for that," they added, together.

Kyouya gave them a half-smile. While this entire Renaissance Faire idea had initially seemed like nothing more than another one of Tamaki's ridiculous flights of fancy, now that he was starting to see some potential for financial gain it didn't seem like such a bad idea after all.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: I managed to get Miku _into_ the Host Club with this chapter, although the interactions between her and the hosts won't really come about until the next one. There's some in here, toward the end, but not much.

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><p><span>Chapter Three<span>

Miku was glad for the weekend, especially after the spectacle in the library. The time off would allow for things to die down... or so she thought. Apparently, however, she underestimated the aftershocks her brush with one of the members of the infamous Host Club would cause. As she walked to her first class on Monday morning, she passed several groups of girls in the hallway, all of who turned to stare at her while whispering to one another.

"Just great," she muttered to herself, sighing as she opened the door to her classroom, and made her way to the desk she occupied in the back corner next to the windows.

"Miku, right?"

She hadn't even gotten the chance to sit down yet, when one of the other girls in her class approached her. The girl was slightly shorter than her, with chin-length brown hair and wide hazel eyes. Miku knew who she was, but only because of a well-publicized stunt the Host Club had pulled, ending with the poor girl having her first kiss with the club's newest member.

"Yes," Miku regarded her as she sat down and began arranging the things she would need for the first class on top of her desk. "What can I do for you, Kasugasaki-san?"

"Please, call me Kanako," the girl replied, sitting in the empty desk in front of her, twisting her body around in the seat so they could speak.

"Fine... Kanako. What can I do for you?"

"I heard you had a run-in with Kyouya Ootori," Kanako said with a smile.

"It's really not that big of a deal," Miku insisted as she continued arranging her books and writing utensils in preparation of taking notes. "I don't know why people care so damn much about it."

"I think _you_ care an awful lot about it," Kanako said with a small smirk.

"Don't be silly, I-"

"You're blushing," Kanako pointed out, cutting off her protests. She leaned farther over Miku's desk, lowering her voice to a more private level. "Could it be... You like him?"

"Wh-what?" Miku stuttered, now fully aware of the heat that was rapidly spreading in her cheeks.

"I knew it!" Kanako exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "You two were having a romantic tryst in the library."

"Is _that_ what everyone thinks happened?" Miku asked, the color draining from her face. While she understood how it probably got started, a part of her wondered how in the world the rumor of what had happened between her and Kyouya between the stacks had gotten so far out of hand. After all, he was from a very wealthy and powerful family, and could easily put the rumor to rest himself.

"You mean, you two aren't..." Kanako asked, allowing the question to hang so Miku could fill in the rest however she deemed fit.

"No," Miku answered sharply, blushing a little when several other students turned their attention in her direction. She waited until they all resumed their previous conversations before continuing in a much quieter voice. "It's nothing like that. I simply... fell, and he caught me. That's it."

Kanako watched her carefully as she explained the situation, making note of the way she kept fiddling with the pages in her notebook as she spoke.

"He isn't denying the rumors, you know," she informed Miku, causing her hand to still. "Perhaps he likes you."

"I... somehow really doubt that," Miku replied, surprised by the disappointment she heard in her own voice.

"Maybe you're right," Kanako agreed with a sigh. "After all, I'm sure this rumor of a romance between one of the Host Club members and a female student is enough fuel to bring the girls running just to find out if it's true or not from the man himself."

"Are you saying he's using the rumors as a publicity stunt for the Host Club?" Miku wondered, slightly appalled.

"I wouldn't put it past him," Kanako said, shrugging slightly. "Kyouya is very, how shall I put it... shady. When it comes to the workings of the club, I mean. He's always looking for ways to maximize their profits."

"Are you sure _you_ don't like him? You seem to know an awful lot about him," Miku pointed out in a vain attempt to draw attention away from her own feelings of disappointment, which were becoming more and more apparent by her expression and demeanor.

"Don't be silly," Kanako said, waving away the accusation with one hand. "I've outgrown the Host Club. Besides, I'm engaged. I was just very observant of their different styles when I frequented the club."

"I see," Miku replied quietly, still coming to terms with the fact that Kyouya was more or less using her to get more customers for the Host Club.

_Maybe you're over-reacting,_ she told herself. _Perhaps he's simply not addressing the rumors because he feels it's none of their business whether or not the two of you are involved._

_Yeah, right._

"Miku?"

Miku looked up at Kanako, who was waving a hand in front of her face, trying to get her attention.

"Hm?"

"I said," Kanako repeated herself, "why don't you go to the Host Club after school today?"

Miku considered it for a moment before shaking her head, her brown hair falling over one eye in the process.

"No way."

"Why not?" Kanako asked.

"Because..." Miku stalled, tugging slightly at the sleeves of her dress, pretending to straighten out the cuffs. No matter what excuse she gave, though, she didn't see this conversation ending in her favor. "Because I'm not interested in the activities of such a foolish club. It's a waste of time."

"Even if it means getting to see Kyouya again?" Kanako questioned her reasoning with a sly grin.

Miku's hands stilled their nervous straightening, which had moved from the cuffs on her sleeves to the bow on the collar around her throat. It was the exact thought she had had after her initial run-in with Kyouya in the library: What bad would it be, visiting the Host Club just once, if it gave her another chance to see Kyouya?

"I... um... well, uh..." she stammered, trying to find a way to turn down the suggestion without sounding like she was in _complete_ denial about her feelings toward the boy.

"I'll go with you, if you like," Kanako offered.

"I thought you were through with the Host Club?" Miku asked, raising an eyebrow.

"As a regular, I am, but that doesn't mean I can't go visit once in a while, for old time's sake," she reasoned, her shrewd grin still in place. "Come on, it'll be fun. And if you don't like it, you can just leave. No hard feelings."

Miku sighed heavily. There was _no_ way she was going to be able to convince Kanako that going to the Host Club was something she had absolutely no interest in, because in all fairness, she _did_ have an interest in the club – or in one of its members, at least. She drummed her fingers slightly on her desktop, stalling for time, wondering if maybe the other girl would simply give up trying to convince her to patronize the Host Club. After several long seconds, which seemed to stretch out for hours, Kanako was still starting at her expectantly, awaiting her decision.

"Fine," Miku gave in, slumping slightly in her chair. "I'll go with you after school today."

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><p>Miku spent the rest of the day completely focused on her studies, trying not to think about her impending visit to the Host Club with Kanako that afternoon. She was, however, painfully aware of the stares and whispers that followed her wherever she went, from the cafeteria to the library and even outside to the courtyard, where she ran for some quiet and solitude after being cornered by the same group of girls who had approached her in the library after her initial run-in with Kyouya.<p>

"Miku!"

She had been on her way out of the school, hoping that if she got away fast enough she could skip out on her plans with Kanako, but the other girl was quick to follow, grabbing the back of her skirt to stop her from walking any farther toward the exit of the building. Miku sighed in defeat, plastering a smile on her face as she turned back.

"Guess I can't escape that easily, huh?" she asked with a small, nervous chuckle, earning herself a laugh from Kanako that bordered on sadistic.

Without another word, Kanako dragged her back into the school, through the corridors and up two flights of stairs to the end of the north hallway of the south building. Miku struggled to keep pace with the other girl, despite being the taller of the two of them, and tripped over her own feet as they rounded the final corner before reaching the Third Music Room.

"Here we are," Kanako announced, turning to Miku and fussing over her dress.

"What are you doing?" Miku asked, suddenly feeling very self-conscious as Kanako's attention turned from her school uniform to her hair. Kanako ran her fingers through the other girl's long locks, arranging them for a slightly tousled look, then frowned a bit before smoothing them back into their original configuration.

"Oh well," she sighed, her hands falling back to her sides. "I suppose it'll do for such short notice."

Miku opened her mouth to ask what was wrong with her appearance, but was interrupted when Kanako grabbed her hand, opening the door to the music room with her free hand before dragging the unwilling patron into the midst of the Host Club's daily activities.

Several pairs of eyes turned in their direction, and Miku felt herself blushing even as she averted her own eyes from the stares of the numerous female students present in the room. Many of them began whispering amongst themselves, and she could make out bits an pieces of the conversations as they floated to her ears. Every single one of them recognized her. Apparently, the rumors about her and Kyouya had spread much faster than she originally anticipated.

"_Irasshaimase_!"

Miku looked up, started by the sudden, vibrant greeting, and found two identical pairs of hazel eyes smiling back at her. The boys possessing the eyes were twins, with rust-colored hair and wide grins that perfectly mirrored one another. Standing side-by-side, they had their arms around each other in a rather possessive way that suggested they were a bit closer than brothers _should_ be. Taken aback by the image before her, Miku took a cautious step away from them, preparing to make a mad dash for the door, but found herself backing into another person. Apologizing profusely, she spun around and froze as her gaze met a very familiar pair of bespectacled grey eyes.

Kyouya gazed down at the girl, his expression unreadable as he adjusted his glasses, then offered her a gentle smile.

"There is no need to apologize," he assured her. "If anyone should apologize, it should be me for coming up so suddenly behind you."

She nodded mutely, and he continued smiling at her, inwardly cursing her for showing up at the Host Club. The only reason he hadn't denied any of the rumors connecting them was because they were sure to bring additional revenue to the club in the form of female students who were curious to know the truth for themselves. He had hoped to let the mystery play out for a few days before finally coming clean and admitting there was nothing between them. Now, however, it looked like he would have no choice but to clear the air right away, before their customers got the wrong idea.

Casting a sideways glance at the patrons in question, he noticed nearly all of them were practically on the edge of their seats, waiting for confirmation that the rumors were true. Tears were present in the eyes of a few of them, for fear that the girl's sudden presence in the sanctuary of the Host Club was further evidence of a forbidden romance between her and the shadowy host. Clearing his throat, he returned his attention to Miku in preparation for asking her to leave when Tamaki suddenly stepped between them.

"Greetings, Princess," he welcomed her, taking one of her hands in his and bending down to grace the back of her hand with a kiss. "Welcome to the Host Club."

"Tamaki-kun?" Kanako addressed him. The blonde president straightened his posture and smiled, placing his hands over his heart as he approached her.

"Princess Kasuga, how long has it been since I have gazed upon your beautiful face?" he asked as he kissed her hand in greeting, as well.

"I'm afraid I can't really stay," she told him, smiling kindly as she pulled her hand away. Tamaki looked up at her, his eyes instantly filling with tears and his bottom lip quivering slightly. "Please don't cry, Tamaki-kun. See? I brought you a new guest."

Kanako gestured to Miku, who looked terrified at the revelation that Kanako had tricked her. She had come along to the Host Club under the assumption that the two of them would be spending the afternoon there _together_, but now it was becoming quite clear that that had never been the plan, at all.

"Ah, apologies, Princess," Tamaki fawned over Miku, bowing deeply to her. "How rude of me to ignore your radiant presence. I am Tamaki Suou, president of the Host Club, and your faithful servant."

"Um... okay," Miku said, casting a withering glare in Kanako's direction. The other girl smiled sweetly as she side-stepped around them, heading for the door.

"Well, then, I shall leave her in your capable hands," she told the boys, patting Kyouya's arm as she secretly winked at him. "Please take good care of her."

"Don't worry, we will," the twins replied in unison, flanking Miku, each of them placing an arm around her shoulders.

"Have fun," Kanako called over her shoulder as she left the music room, the door quietly clicking shut in her wake.

Miku looked around helplessly at the boys grouped around her. The twins had a firm grip on her, so there was no use in trying to run. Even if she did manage to get away, she had a feeling the blonde would throw a tantrum, based on his reaction to Kanako's announcement that she couldn't stay. And she was still unsure about her own feelings toward Kyouya, who had become very hard to read since their arrival. She was trapped... physically, emotionally, and mentally.

Sighing heavily, and seeing no real point in fighting, she resigned herself to an afternoon as the Host Club's guest.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"So what type do you fancy?"

Miku turned her head to Tamaki as he addressed her, blinking in confusion. Either he hadn't heard the rumors, or he didn't believe them. Otherwise, she was sure he would have known why she was there in the first place.

"Perhaps you'd like one of us," one of the twins addressed her, reaching up to intimately caress the side of her face.

"Hikaru," the other twin gasped, looking hurt. "How could you? Showing such affection to another when I'm standing right here."

Hikaru dropped his hand, his attention turning to his brother. In an instant, he had pushed Miku aside and grabbed his twin's hand, pulling him into an embrace worthy of the cover of a romance novel.

"Kaoru, you need not fear," he assured the other boy, leaning close to him until their lips nearly touched. "I may flirt with others, but _you_ are the one I go home with."

"Hikaru!" Kaoru replied in a breathy voice as a chorus of excited squeals emanated from the throng of girls in the room.

Miku watched the scene in complete and utter disbelief, trying to discern exactly what was so enthralling about the idea of the two boys being involved in an obviously incestuous relationship. She forced herself to smile, trying to keep from showing just how creeped out she really was, and quietly stepped away from the two of them, shuddering inwardly as they continued embracing. A slight tugging on the skirt of her dress drew her attention downward, where she found a short boy with blonde hair and wide brown eyes smiling up at her, clutching a stuffed rabbit to his chest.

"You're Miku-chan, right?" he asked in a child-like voice.

"Yes..." Miku replied a bit warily.

"I've heard all about you," the boy replied, letting go of her dress and hugging his bunny tightly. "You're the girl who was kissing Kyo-chan in the library."

"What?" Miku yelled, drawing everyone's attention back to her. She felt a herself turning a dark shade of crimson as she looked over at Kyouya, who was the only person _not _staring at her. Instead, he was busy scribbling something in his notebook. After a moment, he finally looked up, apparently having felt her eyes on him.

"Ah, about that," he said calmly, pushing his glasses up. "I should warn you that many of the patrons have somewhat embellished the story, adding in their own details in order to turn it into a more entertaining work of fiction."

"Kyouya-kun," one of the girls addressed him, "does that mean that the two of you aren't really involved?"

"Yes," he replied, turning his attention to the questioner. "The stories you have heard regarding our relationship are nothing more than elaborately fabricated rumors."

"What haven't _I_ heard anything of this?" Tamaki asked, thoughtfully stroking his chin. "Kyouya, are you keeping secrets from me?"

"I just said none of it is true, Tamaki," Kyouya told him, sighing deeply. "And the reason you haven't heard anything about it is because you've been too busy spending the entire day yapping about the Renaissance Faire."

"Renaissance Faire?" the girls asked in unison, perking up excitedly as they each imagined their favorite host dressed in costumes befitting the time period.

"That's right," Tamaki said, spinning around to face them all and grinning as he held out his arms in a grand gesture. "Your beloved Host Club will be putting on a grand event in the very near future!"

"I trust I can put you all down for tickets?" Kyouya asked, pen poised above his journal once more.

Miku found herself being shoved aside as a stampede of girls rushed up to Kyouya, eager to make sure he added their names to the list of guests for the event. She tripped over her own feet and nearly fell, but a pair of strong arms caught her and set her upright once more. Turning her head to thank whoever had caught her, she found a tall, tanned boy with dark hair and eyes staring at her with a serious expression on his face.

"Um... thank you," she told him, his stern look intimidating her a bit and causing her voice to waver slightly.

"Un," the boy grunted in reply.

"Don't be afraid," the child-like boy told her, climbing up the tall boy's back to perch upon his shoulders. "Takashi might _look_ scary, but he's a nice guy. Say, would you like to eat some cake with us? We brought all kinds today."

"I don't even know your name," Miku laughed.

"Mitsukuni, have you forgotten your manners again?" the tall boy addressed his smaller companion, his voice a gruff monotone.

"Oh, sorry!" the small boy apologized, grinning cutely and folding his arms on top of the other boy's head. "How do you do? I'm Mitsukuni Haninozuka, and this is Takashi Morinozuka."

"Pleasure to meet you," Miku replied politely, bowing slightly to them both.

"Ah, I see you have met Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai," Tamaki said as he strutted over toward the three of them. "Do you fancy the loli-shota type, Princess?"

"Um... well... not really," Miku told him, causing Honey to look like she had just taken away his favorite toy.

"No!" she exclaimed, waving her hands in front of her. "I mean, you _are_ very cute. In fact, you remind me of a little boy I used to babysit. I just came here with the intention of seeing someone else today. That's all."

Miku held her breath, hoping it would be enough to diffuse the situation. To her immense relief, the small boy giggled and hugged his bunny tightly, obviously flattered by her compliment.

"Then who is it you have come to see today?" Tamaki asked her, spinning around with a flourish and bowing before her, looking up at her with a wink and a flirtatious smile. "Don't tell me... You have come to spend the afternoon with me?"

"No, sorry," Miku apologized, suddenly feeling rather nervous. "Actually, I came to see Kyouya."

Kyouya didn't miss her statement, and neither did the group of girls who were clamoring to reserve their places at the ball that was to take place at the end of the upcoming Renaissance Faire. Miku felt their eyes turn onto her at once, a blush rising in her cheeks as she became he center of attention once again.

"Apologies," Kyouya said, closing his notebook in one hand and turning his attention to her completely. "As I am quite busy with the planning for our upcoming event, I will be unable to take on any new customers."

"Oh..." Miku replied, disappointed.

"But please feel free to enjoy the company of one of our other wonderful hosts," he added with a smile. "Ah! Haruhi!" he called to a boy with short, brown hair who had just entered the room carrying a rather expensive-looking tea set. The boy set the tray down on one of the tables and walked over to the group, blinking at the sight before him.

"Did I miss something?" he asked, his eyes traveling from the girls who were huddled around Kyouya to the female student they all seemed to be directing their attentions toward.

"Miss Hirosaka is a new patron of our club. Could you please accompany her for the afternoon?"

Haruhi looked from Kyouya to the girl who was looking rather uncomfortable at being the center of attention. Smiling kindly, she went over and offered a hand to the newcomer, bowing slightly in a polite manner.

"If you please, Miss, come right this way."

Miku's eyes gradually focused on the boy in front of her. He was shorter than most of the other hosts – with the exclusion of Honey – and certainly the plainest of them, with lightly mussed brown hair. She immediately recognized the name, however. Haruhi Fujioka was rather well-known in the school, on account of him being the only commoner in a sea full of rich kids. His attendance relied on a scholarship which stipulated that he must remain the top-scoring student of his class. Miku knew he had to be particularly smart, in order to have gotten into and _stay_ in Ouran, and she was curious how a boy like him got mixed up with the Host Club, in the first place.

"Miss Hirosaka?" Haruhi asked as she simply continued starting at him, straightening his posture as he gave her a slightly worried look. Miku gasped softly once she finally got a good look at him.

"I see you have noticed the dulcet beauty of my dear child," Tamaki said proudly, practically weeping as he placed an arm around Miku's shoulders. "It is true that when Haruhi first arrived, he was nothing more than a shabby commoner bookworm. But thanks to me, he has been refined into a handsome, cultured gentleman."

"You weren't the only one who had a part in that transformation, _Tono_," the twins reminded him, in unison, clearly annoyed that he was taking all the credit for himself.

"I was merely taken by his eyes," Miku quickly told them, trying to avoid an argument before it even got started. "He... has very beautiful eyes."

"Yes! Yes, he does!" Tamaki cheered, clapping his hands in excitement before grabbing Miku's hands and holding them tightly within his own. "You've noticed it too, Princess Hirosaka? Haruhi's eyes are, by far, his best feature. They're so large and bright, and don't you think they look just like a girl's eyes?"

Miku looked at him like he was crazy as she forced a polite smile, gently pulling her hands from his grip. She could tell by the dreamy, far-away look on his face as he spoke that he was in love with Haruhi, and wondered if he was daydreaming about the honors student as he merely continued to stand there, staring off into space with a goofy grin. The twins merely rolled their eyes as they each grabbed Tamaki by one arm and began dragging him away.

"You must forgive him," one of them apologized.

"_Tono_ always gets like this when his inner-mind theater takes over," the other added.

"Inner-mind theater?" Miku repeated.

"It is a long story," Kyouya told her, suddenly standing right behind her. The closeness of his voice startled her, causing her to jump slightly in surprise before spinning around to face him. She found him chuckling lightly at her, covering his mouth with one hand to hide his smile.

"Forgive me, I seem to be frightening you quite a lot this afternoon," he continued, tucking his notebook under one arm and placing one hand against the small of her back. Miku heard a chorus of soft gasps as he touched her and turned her head to see the other patrons watching the interaction almost as if the two of them were some lovers on the hottest television drama. Miku turned back to Kyouya as she felt herself being gently pushed forward, toward Haruhi.

"Treat her well, Haruhi," he ordered, a smirk tugging slightly at the corner of his mouth as he turned on his heel and walked away from them.

Kyouya had vowed to keep to himself as much as possible that afternoon, in a ploy to prolong the effects of the rumors floating about the school concerning his relationship with Miku Hirosaka. When the girl herself walked through the door of the club's base of operations, however, he knew that he needed to diffuse the rumors right away before things got out of hand. He thought that simply denying them would be sufficient enough for the female patrons.

Apparently, he was wrong.

Even though he had verbally stated that there was _no_ relationship between them, the patrons continued to regard them with curiosity and excitement. He supposed it was his own fault, since he made physical contact with the girl as he insisted she go with Haruhi, but it still annoyed him that he was being watched, his every move studied by a select group of girls who designated him as their favorite host.

He had felt marginally bad about lying to the girl about being too busy to take on new customers, but only because he knew his refusal to serve her would likely lead to a lecture from Tamaki on the responsibilities of the host to his customers. He felt confident, however, that he had made the right choice in placing her with Haruhi. As she was a female herself, Haruhi was the most skilled member of the host club when it came to empathizing with their customers, and she had a track record for consoling the heart-broken and forlorn.

Kyouya sighed as he realized he had just described Miku as 'heart-broken' in his mind. It was his fault the girl was feeling that way, not so much because he denied their relationship, but because he had given her false hope in _not_ denying it when the rumors first started. He momentarily considered ordering an apology bouquet to be sent to her home, but decided against it once he realized she would probably take it the wrong way and consider the flowers as a sign of some sort of hidden affections she believed he was harboring for her.

Sighing again, he turned his head slightly and glanced over at the table where she and Haruhi were now sitting, suddenly having the feeling that maybe putting the two of them together was more of a mistake than he originally calculated.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: I used this chapter to sort of address something I always wondered about Ouran and how no one seems to notice that Haruhi is a girl despite one very obvious fact. And because I failed to mention it before (and in case it's not obvious by now) this story is based more on the anime than the manga, since manga is kind of hard to come by where I live. That's why the twins are redheads and call Tamaki "_Tono_," among other things.

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Five<span>

Miku sat quietly at the small, round table next to the window, watching her host for the afternoon out of the corner of her eye as he poured tea for them both. Haruhi smiled kindly and offered her sugar for her tea, which Miku accepted with a gracious nod, then took a seat across from her. Miku looked about a bit nervously as she slowly stirred her tea, careful not to spill any of it on the expensive-looking tablecloth, and found about half a dozen or so girls watching her like hawks over the back of a sofa.

"Don't mind them," Haruhi said in a soothing voice. "The customers always get like that when a new girl comes along. It'll die down after a while, once they see you're not a threat to them."

"They think _I'm_ a threat?" Miku asked in disbelief, pointing to herself as she turned her attention back to Haruhi.

"Every new customer who comes through those doors is a potential threat to the regulars," Haruhi replied with a nod. "The regulars fear that the new customer will capture the heart of one of their beloved hosts and take him away from the Host Club and, as such, away from them. In _your_ case, the ones feeling the most threatened by your presence right now are Kyouya-senpai's designators."

Miku smiled as she took a sip of her tea. "You really _are_ as smart as they say, aren't you?"

"I don't know about that," Haruhi denied, blushing and scratching the back of her head.

"May I ask you something a bit personal, though?" Miku asked, setting her teacup down softly.

"Why would someone like me join a club like this?" Haruhi asked for her.

"No," Miku responded, shaking her head. "Although I _do_ wonder that, as well... but that's not what I was going to ask."

"Oh?" Haruhi asked, blinking. "Then what is it?"

Miku hesitated a moment, then leaned forward over the table, beckoning Haruhi closer with a wave of her finger. Haruhi looked around, wondering why she was acting so secretive, then slowly leaned closer to the other girl until they were eye-to-eye.

"Do the other hosts know?" Miku asked, keeping her voice very quiet.

"Know what?" Haruhi asked, just as quietly.

"That you're... you know... a girl."

Haruhi sat back up straight, the color suddenly draining from her face. Miku also returned to her previous position in the chair, smiling apologetically as she picked up her tea cup and took another drink.

"How did you know?" Haruhi asked, careful to keep her voice down so none of the other customers could hear what they were discussing.

"Basic biology," Miku stated matter-of-factly. "Boys have Adam's apples, girls don't. _You_ don't have one, so..."

Haruhi unconsciously brought a hand up to feel her throat, wondering how none of the other customers had picked up on that before. As she thought about it some more, though, she realized that the majority of the girls who frequented the Host Club were so completely boy-crazy that they probably didn't pay attention to details like that.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me," Miku assured her with a friendly smile. "Although I still think you're nuts for hanging out with this bunch of clowns."

Haruhi laughed, the tension easily melting away, and resumed drinking her own tea.

"They're really not that bad, once you get to know them," she told Miku. "Take Hikaru and Kaoru, for instance. They seem like these big troublemakers, but Kaoru is actually quite emotionally sensitive and Hikaru is a lot smarter than he lets on... in certain areas, at any rate."

"And what about the illustrious King Tamaki?" Miku asked, obviously poking fun at the Host Club president's propensity for acting overly dramatic.

"He's a moron," Haruhi said, although it came out lovingly rather than insultingly. "But he genuinely cares about the happiness of others. He's easily moved by the plights of those less fortunate than himself and does his best to help better their circumstances. And he's actually the second-ranked student in his year, in spite of the way he acts."

"He's a good person, huh?"

"Yeah."

"And surprisingly smart, too."

"Yeah."

"Not to mention, good-looking."

"Yeah- Wait! I mean..."

Mikua laughed quietly as a dark blush crossed Haruhi's cheeks.

"You like him, don't you?"

"Of course not!" Haruhi insisted, her quickness to deny the accusation a dead giveaway of her true feelings.

"He likes _you_, you know," Miku told her. "You can tell by the way he gushes about you."

"He was like that _before_ he knew I was a girl," Haruhi replied with a chuckle.

"Okay, maybe he fawned over your looks before," Miku conceded, "but I doubt he had that look in his eyes when he did it."

"What look?" Haruhi asked, visibly perplexed by the comment.

Miku sighed a bit, leaning on the table and propping her chin in her hand as she tried to figure out just how to describe what she had seen in Tamaki's eyes before when he was gushing about Haruhi.

"There was this... sort of soft warmth in his eyes," she said thoughtfully after a moment. "It was very much evident in the way he was smiling, too. Sure, on the surface he just looked like a big goofball, but if you look just beneath that it becomes obvious how much he cares about you."

"That's just ridiculous." Haruhi tried to deny the idea that Tamaki felt anything more toward her than his self-proclaimed 'fatherly love,' but the blush that just barely covered her cheeks implied that she also may have considered what Miku was saying to be the truth.

Miku smiled a bit at Haruhi's bashful expression, turning her head to scan the crowded music room. Tamaki was sitting on the sofa with the best view of where they were, occasionally stealing glances in their direction as he chatted animatedly with several girls. Miku grinned when his eyes met hers as he glanced their way once more, and he quickly averted his gaze when it became apparent that he'd been caught.

"So you two really aren't secretly dating?"

A female voice caught Miku's attention and she looked around for the source of the question, thinking it had been directed toward her. What she found, however, was a group of girls sitting on the edge of their chairs, leaning forward as they eagerly awaited a response from the host they were all gathered around. Even though she could only see the back of his head, she could tell from the impeccably groomed black locks that it was Kyouya – never mind that the question that had been asked more or less gave away his identity, in the first place. Miku also found herself leaning slightly toward them, trying as best she could to hear the outcome of this line of questioning.

"I assure you all that it is nothing but an unfounded rumor," Kyouya answered dryly. "I shall tell you everything exactly as it happened, if you like."

The girls sitting with him all insisted that he absolutely should tell them, and Miku suddenly wanted to crawl under the table she was sitting at with Haruhi and never come out. It had been embarrassing enough that she had made herself out to be a complete fool in front of him, but now he was going to tell these girls what a klutz she was. And, since she highly doubted regular patrons of the Host Club were anything less than tactless gossips, she knew it would only be a matter of a day or two before the entire school knew it, too.

"I was on my way here when Miss Hirosaka fell from a ladder on the second floor of the Second Reading Room," Kyouya explained, his voice holding a slight air of amusement. "Apparently, she was trying to retrieve a book that was just out of her reach and she ended up slipping from the top rung. Fortunately, I was there to catch her, and so she avoided sustaining any injuries. After that, she thanked me and we went our separate ways."

Miku listened as the girls murmured appreciatively over him for having told them the story. One of them gushed that Kyouya was a hero for having saved her. Another agreed, but added that Kyouya should not have had to waste his energy on helping a girl like her. Miku clenched her hand into a fist at the girl's rude comment, ready to get up and go over to her so she could give the offender a piece of her mind, but a third girl chimed in with yet another question.

"Is that the type of girl you like, Kyouya-kun?" she asked, sounding a bit shy and hopeful. Miku wondered if maybe she was a bit clumsy and had high hopes that Kyouya would think she was charming and fall in love with her if he liked girls like that.

"Absolutely not," Kyouya replied flatly. "Not only does she lack the grace of a sophisticated woman of society, but her language and manners could also use some polishing. Of course," he continued, "I assume it has a lot to do with her upbringing. Her family wasn't always well-off, after all."

"Then what about Haruhi?" asked the girl who had originally posed the question about the state of their relationship. "He's from a poor family, too. Does that mean you don't like him, either?"

"Haruhi is a fine young gentleman," Kyouya answered. "His tastes may run toward simpler things, but if there is an exception to every rule, then he is the one to this particular rule."

Haruhi had only been half-listening to the conversation, but became immediately interested when she heard her name being mentioned. She found Kyouya's responses to the girls' questions somewhat odd, knowing that he generally wasn't the sort of person to let a difference in social class sway his opinions of a person. Sure, he would sometimes tease her about being from a poor family, but he always did it with a lighthearted smirk that bore no ill will toward her.

The sound of ceramic clinking together drew Haruhi's attention back to Miku, who was setting her teacup down with shaky hands, and she knew that Kyouya's statements had upset the girl. She opened her mouth to try to console her, but Miku suddenly stood up and walked out of the music room without saying a word, the door closing heavily behind her. Haruhi sighed heavily and caught both of the twins looking at her with perplexed expressions, and Honey staring at the door and looking as though he was about to cry. Kaoru mouthed, '_What just happened_?_' _and Haruhi shook her head slightly, as if to tell him that now was not a good time to be discussing it.

And as Haruhi turned in her chair to stare at the back of Kyouya's head, she wondered what, exactly, had gotten into him. Normally congenial with _all_ of their guests, he had suddenly turned hard and abrasive. She was sure Tamaki had missed the entire exchange, as he was still laughing and chatting with the girls seated in his area, as joyfully oblivious as ever. She was also sure of two other things: One, that Kyouya would never in a million years tell her what had gotten into him, and two, that if anyone stood a chance at finding out about his strange behavior, it was Tamaki.

Groaning inwardly at the thought of having a private discussion with the blonde president – especially after the conversation she had had about him with Miku – Haruhi almost decided to just let things go. Her conscience, however, would hear no word of it, and so she resigned herself to her fate and decided that one way or another, she would try to make things right.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Haruhi quietly cleaned up the remainder of the dishes from the Host Club's afternoon activities, her mind inundated with thoughts. She was still concerned about Kyouya's uncharacteristic rudeness earlier, but after Miku's abrupt exit her mind had begun to wander toward the things the girl had said to her during their brief conversation.

It had never once entered her thoughts that Tamaki might actually be harboring some sort of secret romantic feelings toward her, but suddenly small things began making sense. The way he had reacted upon finding her and Kyouya alone in that darkened bedroom at the beach resort no longer seemed like nothing more than him being protective of her virtue. His insistence on assessing her quality of life no longer reeked of his simple-minded fascination with the way commoners lived. And the way he looked at her...

Haruhi slowly turned her head and found him lounging on the sofa, his head tilted slightly and propped against his hand, a soft smile on his face as he watched her cleaning up. Her eyes met his and for a moment her breath caught in her throat as she finally saw what Miku had been talking about, but the moment was ruined as soon as he realized she had caught him staring at her. In a flash, Tamaki jumped to his feet – bending his head downward and coughing to hide the blush on his cheeks – and walked briskly over to where Hikaru and Kaoru were looking over some materials Kyouya had provided them to give to their mother for costume ideas for the upcoming Renaissance Faire.

Sighing, Haruhi returned to her task, feeling a bit more awkward being in the same room as Tamaki thanks to her recent revelation. She knew nothing was bound to ever come of it, though, so she pushed aside the idea of Tamaki having feelings for her and instead focused on her original predicament: Attempting to figure out what had gotten into Kyouya lately.

Her mental energy refocused, Haruhi looked around the room until her eyes fell upon Kyouya. As usual, he was sitting away from the others, calmly typing away at his laptop... no doubt calculating the daily point deductions from each of the patrons' accounts and setting up new auctions for inconsequential items belonging to the Host Club members. Her attention focused intently on him, she began mentally willing him to get up from that table and leave the room. Otherwise, she would never be able to approach Tamaki and ask him what she needed to about the Shadow King.

As if he could hear her thoughts, Kyouya suddenly turned off his computer and stood from his chair, sighing heavily as he removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. He then cleaned the lenses off on his jacket before replacing them on his face, and as he did Haruhi noticed that he looked more tired than usual. A second later, however, he was smiling again as he turned to address the rest of the room.

"Good work today, everyone!" he called to the others, giving them a sort of half-salute. "See you all tomorrow."

"Oh? Going home already, Kyouya?" Tamaki asked, his voice holding a note of concern.

"Yes, I'm feeling a bit tired so I'm going home to rest. I'm afraid I may be coming down with something."

"Then it probably _is_ best you go home to rest," Haruhi told him, hoping she wasn't coming across as sounding eager to be rid of him. "We wouldn't want our vice president to fall ill just when we're planning such a big event."

"That's right!" Tamaki agreed, suddenly appearing at her side. "Well put, Haruhi!" He placed his arm around her shoulders and Haruhi felt her face turning pink as he continued to ramble on. "Make sure you drink plenty of fluids, and have some chicken soup. I hear that it's a common remedy that's used by commoners to treat sickness. Right, Haruhi?"

Haruhi blinked as she realized he was addressing her and looked up at him briefly before averting her gaze back to the floor, nodding in agreement.

"I shall keep that in mind," Kyouya replied, a touch of laughter in his voice. "Good evening, all."

Haruhi mumbled a goodbye as the others called theirs out to him, and waited until she heard the door close behind him before making her move. Taking a deep breath, she swiftly stepped out from under Tamaki's arm, nearly sending him sprawling across the floor, and forced herself to look up at him. Tamaki blinked, confused by the almost defiant look in her eyes, and took a moment to regain his composure as she remained silently staring at him.

"What is Kyouya's problem?" she asked him curtly, the words coming out a bit harsher than she had intended.

"He just said he wasn't feeling well," Tamaki replied, still confused by her behavior. "Didn't you hear him?"

"I don't think that's what she meant, _Tono_," Hikaru said as he approached them.

"We heard it, too," Kaoru added, walking in perfect step beside his brother.

"Heard what?" Tamaki asked, utterly perplexed.

"Kyo-_chan _was rude to Miku-_chan_," Honey informed him, still sitting at a nearby table with a half-eaten piece of cake before him. He pouted as he poked at the cake with his fork, looking as though he could burst into tears at any moment.

"Huh?" Tamaki blurted out dumbly. "When? I don't remember seeing him do anything or hearing him say anything to offend her."

"He wasn't talking to her _directly_," Haruhi clarified for him. "But he made a rather uncharacteristic remark concerning his thoughts on those born with lesser social standing."

"It was odd," Kaoru remarked.

"It was scary," Hikaru added.

"Kyouya-_senpai _never does anything that would upset the customers," they chimed in unison, shrugging.

"Perhaps he's protecting himself."

All eyes in the room turned to where Mori was seated across from Honey, his head propped thoughtfully in one hand. He rarely spoke, so it struck them as somewhat odd that he would suddenly speak up in the middle of one of their conversations. Furthermore, the statement he had uttered made no sense to any of them.

Mori quietly turned his eyes toward them all and, upon seeing the shocked and bewildered expressions on their faces, realized he was going to have to further explain his reasoning. Sighing heavily, he lifted his head from his hand and turned fully toward the others, slouching slightly in his chair as he allowed his arm to fall across the edge of the table.

"Kyouya has built these invisible walls around himself with the intention of keeping others from becoming too close to him. He doesn't want any unwarranted attachments to be formed."

"Are you saying he's afraid he might fall for her?" Kaoru asked, his eyes moving from his brother to Haruhi almost imperceptibly.

"Not at all," Mori replied in the same deadpan tone of voice he always spoke in. "In fact, it's quite the opposite: He doesn't want _her _falling for _him_, because he knows he can't give her what she wants."

"How does he even _know_ what she wants?" Hikaru wondered, scoffing a bit.

"What do _all_ girls want?" Mori asked in reply, directing the question toward Haruhi.

Haruhi blinked as they all turned to look at her expectantly, patiently awaiting her answer. What did all girls want? She hardly felt qualified to answer that question, even if she _was_ a girl. For one thing, she wasn't even sure what _she_ wanted, let alone every other girl in the world.

"Well, um..." she mumbled after a moment, reaching up to scratch the back of her head. "I suppose we want... love? Companionship, someone we can talk to about anything and everything who won't judge us no matter how superficial we're being. Someone who will accept us as we are, faults and all, and hold our hand when we're scared and tell us things will be alright, even if they're not sure of that themselves."

Tamaki listened carefully to every word that passed through her lips, committing them all to memory. He had wanted to ask her himself what she looked for in a man, but had gotten cold feet whenever he had the chance to do so. Thankfully, Mori had spared him the uncomfortable embarrassment of coming out with the question himself. He would have to remember to buy him a gift.

"And that's where the problem lies," Mori stated before resting his head in the palm of his hand once more, signaling the end of the conversation. The twins blinked in confusion and shrugged at one another, still no closer to understanding Mori's reasoning that Kyouya had been rude in order to protect himself.

"Ah!" Haruhi exclaimed after a brief pause, bringing her fist down into her open palm. "I get it! Kyouya-_senpai_ doesn't know how to be a dashing, romantic prince so in order to keep Miku-_san_ from projecting an idealized fantasy upon him he decided to crush her hopes from the start."

"That makes him sound rather mean-spirited," Hikaru commented.

"Like he doesn't have a heart," Kaoru added.

"Of course, maybe he doesn't," they both concluded, shrugging again.

"He has a heart," Tamaki stated in a soft, thoughtful voice. "I'm sure of that. He just doesn't know how to use it, yet."

The others looked at the Host King, taken slightly aback. It was rare that Tamaki had an insightful moment, and when he did he took on such a different countenance from his usual air-headed self that it often shocked them.

"We still haven't explained how he's protecting himself, _Tono_," Hikaru pointed out.

"Kyo-_chan_ likes to keep to himself," Honey muttered around a mouthful of cake. Tamaki nodded in agreement.

"Well said, Honey-_senpai_," he agreed. "I believe Mori-_senpai_'s point was that Kyouya felt it necessary to push Miku-_chan_ away in order to keep her from trying to break down his walls he has so carefully built around himself."

"She really likes him, though," Haruhi said quietly.

"Hmm?" Tamaki asked, turning his head toward her.

"What he said... it really hurt her," Haruhi continued, her eyes downcast as she remembered everything that had transpired earlier that afternoon. "The look on her face when she ran out, it was almost like... the words hurt her even more _because_ they came from him."

"Ahh," Kaoru sighed. "Could it be she's fallen for Kyouya-_senpai_?"

"How is that possible?" Hikaru asked skeptically. "They only just met a few days ago."

"Yes, that's it!" Tamaki exclaimed, a dreamy look on his face. "It's love at first sight!"

"Maybe for _her_, _Tono_," Hikaru reminded him bluntly.

"But Kyouya-_senpai_ clearly isn't interested," Kaoru concluded.

Tamaki's expression fell into one of utter despair, and he turned tear-filled eyes toward Haruhi, pouting. Haruhi normally found it amusing when the twins shot down one of his ideas and he went into sulking mode, but this time she was inclined to disagree with their willingness to just let things go as they were.

"Tamaki-_senpai_," she addressed him, smiling softly. "Remember our club motto?"

Tamaki sniffled loudly, perking up slightly at her words.

"Our Ouran Host Club exists to bring fortune to the ladies," she reminded him.

Tamaki's eyes lit up as his grin returned and he once again sprung into high gear.

"Yes, Haruhi!" he agreed, his loud voice echoing in the vast music room. "You are correct! We shall aid this sweet girl in obtaining the heart of the one she loves!"

Hikaru and Kaoru exchanged nervous glances as Tamaki grabbed Haruhi and began dancing around the room with her, laughing loudly and telling her what a wonderful daughter she was. The Host Club had successfully brought couples together before in the past, but this was an entirely different ball game compared to those instances. Sighing heavily, they looked over to where Honey and Mori were sitting, and discovered they were both wearing equally worried expressions.

Apparently, only Tamaki thought it was a brilliant idea to be playing matchmaker with Kyouya Ootori.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: More of the twins in this chapter. I consider it practice for my next Ouran story I have planned, since they're the main focus of that one. By the way... Cookies to anyone who can pick out the two sources of the other schools Miku considers transferring to. *wink*

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Seven<span>

Miku kept her head down as she walked to class the next morning, trying her best to ignore the various whispers that followed her down the hall. She couldn't help but overhear bits and pieces of the conversations as she passed by, however, as the other students seemed more determined than ever to _not_ keep their voices down. Apparently, everyone knew she had shown up at the host club, and they also knew of her hasty exit. The details of what transpired in between those two events seemed to vary from person to person, though, depending on who you asked for the story. One of the girls she passed by even had the audacity to blame _Miku_ for what happened, even though _she_ was the one who had high-tailed it out of there in tears.

Sighing heavily, Miku opened the door to her classroom and was not at all surprised that the chattering of the other students came to a complete halt as she stepped into the doorway. She could feel their eyes on her as she quietly made her way to her seat: the boys' regarding her with curiosity over what really happened, and the girls' no doubt cursing her for causing a scene within the Host Club's sanctuary. Once she had taken her seat, she cast a meaningful glare at them all and suddenly their conversations were resumed.

She wondered if maybe she should look into transferring schools. Her father had wanted her to attend Ouran because it was one of the most prestigious schools in all of Japan, but perhaps she could convince him that another socially elite school would be better suited for her, like Eitoku or St. President's Academy. Unless she could come up with a _damn_ good reason for wanting to transfer, though, she knew her father would end up refusing her request.

"So, how did it go?"

Miku looked up from her desk and found Kanako sitting at the desk in front of hers, leaning expectantly on the back of the seat and smiling at her.

"Why don't you ask the gossips?" Miku snapped before going back to her preparations for class. She was still angry with the other girl for abandoning her at the mercy of the host club the previous afternoon, especially after the disastrous results that came from it.

"The gossips aren't to be trusted," Kanako stated matter-of-factly. "So, spill. What happened?"

Miku slammed her book down on top of her desk and looked the other girl straight in the eye, her jaw clenched tightly as she growled slightly in reply.

"I was _humiliated_, Kanako. You left me there, _alone_, and I got fed to the wolves. There. How's that for a description of what happened, in a nutshell?"

Kanako blinked in surprise at her demeanor and merely watched quietly as Miku began shoving her things back into her school bag before standing up from her seat and heading for the classroom door.

"Where are you going?" Kanako called after her.

"Home!" Miku shouted back without turning around.

* * *

><p>Hikaru and Kaoru gave each other a furtive glance as they stood outside of classroom 2-B. Tamaki had given them <em>explicit<em> orders: Make sure Miku Hirosaka forgave Kyouya for his rudeness the day before and get her to believe that it was all just a misunderstanding. They both knew it wasn't going to be easy, though. She wasn't like nearly all the other girls in the school, who would just about eat anything right out of their hands. Miku was smart, and she would likely see through any lies they tried to pawn off on her.

"This is never going to work," Hikaru said, sighing a bit.

"I know," Kaoru agreed. "But _Tono_ says we at least have to try, so..." he added with a shrug.

"Ready for this?" Hikaru asked, turning to his brother.

"Ready," Kaoru said with a nod, and they both took a step toward the classroom just as the very person they had come to talk to came bursting through the doorway and began stalking away from them down the hall.

"Oi, Miku-chan!" Hikaru called after her, stopping her dead in her tracks. She turned and looked over her shoulder to see who was addressing her and rolled her eyes when she saw the twins approaching her, separating as they neared where she was standing so they could no doubt surround her and prevent her from escaping.

"What do _you two_ want?" she asked them, thoroughly annoyed.

"We wanted to apologize for yesterday," Hikaru told her.

"Why? _You_ didn't do anything," Miku pointed out to them in a clipped tone.

"No, but we still feel bad," Kaoru told her, placing an arm around her shoulders.

"And so does Kyouya-senpai," Hikaru added, placing one of his arms around her waist.

"Then why isn't _he_ the one here, apologizing?" she asked, looking from one of them to the other, "I'll tell you why: because he _doesn't care_. He's a cold, unfeeling jerk."

"That's not true," Kaoru told her, immediately jumping to Kyouya's defense. "He's... a nice guy. Really."

"Yeah," Kaoru chimed in. "In fact, he was the one who... who... uh..." He stammered as he tried to think of something particularly nice that Kyouya had done for someone, but nothing really came to mind. Sure, he helped out whenever the club was scheming to help one of their fellow students, but it was usually _Tamaki_ who came up with the ideas.

"He makes sure the club runs smoothly," Hikaru offered.

"That's not a sign of _kindness_," Miku pointed out. "That's just a part of his his business-like nature."

"Ah!" Kaoru exclaimed, smacking himself upside the head with the hand that wasn't draped over her shoulder. "I got it! He saved _you_. That's gotta count for something, right?"

"That was just an instinct," Miku argued. "I'm willing to bet quite a lot of people would have done what he did in that situation. Besides, he didn't go _out of his way_ to do that. He just happened to be there."

The twins exchanged a look over her head and each knew what the other was thinking in that very moment: _Yep, this is a losing battle._

"Come on, Miku," Hikaru drawled, batting his eyelashes a bit at her. "Just give him another chance, pretty please?"

"If you don't... we'll cry," Kaoru added, sticking out his bottom lip in an over-exaggerated pout.

"You don't want to make us cry, _do _you?" they asked in unison, resting their heads on her shoulders and giving her pleadingly hopeful looks. Miku stiffened slightly, her face a mask of utter shock that bordered on fear.

"You guys are _really_ scary, you know that?" she said, wiggling free of their grasp. As soon as she managed to loosen their hold on her, she spun around to face them, taking a large step backward in the direction of the school's main entrance.

"Come on, Miku..." Hikaru began, taking a step closer to her.

"...doesn't everyone deserve a second chance?" Kaoru finished, also taking a step closer to her.

Miku took another large step backwards as they began attempting to close in on her once again, shaking her head as she tightly gripped the strap of her school bag with both hands. These two just _didn't_ give up, she realized. Which didn't really surprise her. Rich brats were accustomed to getting whatever they wanted, after all.

"Save your breath," she told them, her voice holding a hard edge of finality. "No amount of begging or pleading is going to make me change my mind. If Kyouya _really_ wants to apologize, fine... let _him_ come to me and apologize. Now, you two run along and find some girls to fall all over themselves for you. _I'm_ going home."

Hikaru and Kaoru just stood there, blinking in surprise, and watched as she turned on the ball of her foot and marched straight toward the exit. Even the most cynical of girls had always fallen for their tag-team 'don't make us cry' faces. However, none of the other girls they had used the tactic on had ever been quite as angry as Miku Hirosaka was. Sighing in defeat, they began heading in the direction of their own classroom, only to be cut off halfway down the hall by Tamaki.

"How did it go?" he asked eagerly, bouncing on his heels in anticipation of the good news.

"Terrible," they replied in unison. Tamaki stopped bouncing up and down and suddenly looked like he was going to cry.

"But... but you told her Kyouya was sorry, right?" he asked, confused as to why things hadn't gone the way he had intended. His plan had been perfect, or so he thought. He even sent the twins, who were masters when it came to seducing girls into agreeing with them.

"She didn't want to hear it," Hikaru told him.

"Not from _us_, anyway," Kaoru added.

"She needs to hear it from Kyouya," they informed him together, each of them pointing a finger into the Host Club president's face to further accentuate the point.

"I _knew_ this was never going to work," Kaoru remarked with a sigh.

"_Tono_, maybe we should just talk to Kyouya-senpai about this and see what he has to say," Hikaru suggested.

"No!" Tamaki exclaimed, holding up both his hands in protest. "Kyouya mustn't know anything about this. If he begins to suspect we're up to something, then all of our plans will be ruined."

"Might be for the best if they were, anyway," Hikaru mumbled, and Kaoru nodded in agreement.

"What was that?" Tamaki asked.

"Nothing," Kaoru said.

"I was simply wondering if maybe there was a way to trick them into being alone together so that Kyouya might feel compelled to apologize to her on his own," Hikaru quickly lied.

"Not likely," Haruhi said as she stepped out into the hallway to join them.

"Ha-Haruhi... what are you doing here?" Tamaki stammered, unconsciously preening himself by running a hand back through his blonde hair.

"You guys were making such a racket that I decided to come see what all the fuss was about," she told them. "And by 'you guys,' I mean _you_, Tamaki-senpai. Honestly, is it at all possible for you to _ever_ talk quietly? You know, if Kyouya hears you guys scheming it'll blow the whole operation."

Tamaki covered his mouth with one hand, swallowing a bit nervously. Haruhi was right: If Kyouya found out they were scheming to set him up with Miku, he would put and abrupt end to it all. And if that happened, and it was all _his_ fault...

"Anyway... Like I was saying," Haruhi continued, ignoring the tears that were springing to Tamaki's eyes at the thought of ruining his own carefully-laid plans. "Miku went home, right? So getting her anywhere _near_ Kyouya is, in itself, going to pose a bit of a challenge."

"So what should we do?" the twins wondered, shrugging helplessly.

"I think we should go _against_ Tamaki-senpai's wishes on this one," she began, causing a surprised gasp to come from the blonde, "and we should just tell Kyouya-senpai that he _has_ to apologize to her."

"But, Haruhi... we can't!" Tamaki protested, keeping his voice down to an over-exaggerated whisper.

"It's simple," she explained, turning to him. "Just lecture him about the importance of a host to be kind to the guests at all times. Tell him his actions yesterday were unbefitting of a gentleman and that since he is the vice president of the Host Club, it is his responsibility to see to it that things are put right. Trust me, if you make him feel like he's not fulfilling his 'proper duties' it'll drive him nuts and he'll feel compelled to apologize."

"That... might actually work," Tamaki said, thoughtfully stroking his chin as he considered her idea.

"They don't call her smart for nothing," Hikaru remarked with a smile.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Kyouya sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he walked down the hallway of one of his family's hospitals. That afternoon's meeting of the Host Club had gone worse than usual, although no worse than he had really expected it to.

The moment Tamaki had walked in the door, he knew that he was in for a lecture – the very lecture he had been anticipating and dreading since he made the rude remarks geared toward Miku Hirosaka. He simply stood there silently and pretended to listen as Tamaki went on and on about the duties of a host and the proper way for a gentleman to behave. And although Kyouya hated to admit it, he had a point. If nothing else, his poor treatment of the girl might possibly lead to harsh relations between the companies run by his own family and her father's IT company, which was quickly gaining recognition as one of the world leaders in the industry.

He knew he had to apologize to her, both to save face for his future business dealings with her father _and_ to get Tamaki off his back, but there was just one problem: He had no idea how to find the girl. He had called her home after the Host Club's daily activities were ended, but one of the servants informed him that she had been gone several hours and they had no idea when to expect her home. He had asked where she went, but the woman he was speaking to refused to give him that information, no matter how much he tried to sweet-talk her into saying where her mistress could be found. He resigned himself to having to go speak to her at her classroom in the morning, then recalled that Hikaru and Kaoru had said something about her storming off in an incredibly foul mood. Which made him think she might be planning to _not_ show up the next day... meaning he would have no choice but to present himself at her residence in order to ask for her forgiveness.

That was the _last_ thing he wanted to do. If word got out that he paid a personal visit to the home of Miku Hirosaka, then all the rumors of a relationship between them would start up again. After all, Kyouya Ootori was not the sort of person who went out of his way to see people, unless there was some sort of business dealing or financial gain involved. And the fact that he would go to see a _girl_ would have to mean just one thing to those who concerned themselves with the comings and goings of young heirs such as himself: A forbidden romance. Then there was the threat of his father discovering his intrusion on the Hirosaka household, which would inevitably lead to the Ootori patriarch adding the only daughter of said household to his list of potential future wives for his third son.

"You really didn't have to bring me more flowers. I have plenty, already."

"One can _never_ have too many flowers. Besides, they cheer up this gloomy old room."

Kyouya paused mid-stride as he overheard part of a conversation taking place in one of the patients' rooms he had just passed. Normally, he just tuned out what was being said as he passed by the occasionally open doors, but this time the discussion between two women had caught his ear. Not so much for what was being said, but for the distinct feeling that he had heard one of those voices before. Turning slowly on his heel, he casually made his way back toward the only open door within fifteen feet of where he had been standing.

"The doctor said you've been here most of the day," the first woman said, sounding a bit tired. "I thought you decided not to wait around during the procedure this time."

"I changed my mind," replied the second woman – the one whose voice Kyouya _knew_ he had heard before, but just couldn't place.

"You're lying," the other woman countered. "Something happened, didn't it?"

"I'm not lying," the second woman insisted.

"I'm your mother. I can tell when you're lying to me."

So the two women were a mother and daughter. Kyouya deduced that the mother was the patient, and her daughter had come to visit her. He glanced at the name plate outside the door, which read Ai Mizushima, and drew a complete blank. He didn't recall ever meeting anyone by that name. Moving stealthily, so as not to alert the two women of his presence, he stepped toward the doorway in order to get a look at the visitor and hopefully put an identity with the voice he recognized.

The woman in the bed was probably in her mid-forties, but she looked older due to her condition. Her skin was pale, her face almost unbearably thin, and she had large dark circles under her eyes. Despite her apparent illness, she was smiling in the knowing way mothers often do when they have caught their children trying to hide something from them. Kyouya took another step forward and finally laid eyes upon the daughter. She closely resembled her mother – only younger and healthier – with the same facial features and coloring. She was dressed in a denim mini-skirt and a white peasant top with a dark brown corset-style vest made of leather over it. She also wore matching leather boots that came up to her knees and a beret of the same shade of rich chocolate brown as her eyes. Her hair was a slightly lighter shade of brown, modestly styled so that it fell in gentle waves around her face and shoulders. At first Kyouya thought she wasn't wearing any makeup at all, but upon seeing her glossed lips shine in the sun as she pouted at her mother he realized she had simply opted for a natural-looking application of color that enhanced her features.

"Talk to me, Miku," the woman in the bed said, holding her hands out to her daughter.

"_Miku_?" Kyouya repeated quietly to himself, his eyes widening in disbelief. _This_ girl was Miku Hirosaka? Sure, he knew now why the voice sounded familiar, but the Miku he knew was a mousy girl who never wore makeup and was a bit on the plain side. The girl he was looking at now was fashionable and – dare he say it? – actually pretty.

Miku wandered over to her mother's bedside and took her hands, sighing as she sat down in the chair by the bed. She stalled for a while, swinging their joined hands back and forth slightly as she bit her bottom lip and wondered just how much she should tell her about what had been going on at school.

"Is it a boy?" her mother asked in a low voice, giving her a playful wink.

"Sort of..." Miku replied with a shrug. "But not what you think."

"How do _you_ know what I think?"

"I'm your daughter," Miku responded with a smirk. "I know how your mind works, you perverted old bat."

Kyouya was surprised that she would call her own mother something so horrible, and even more surprised when her mother laughed good-naturedly at the insult.

"You mean to tell me you _still_ don't have a boyfriend?" she asked through her laughter. Miku shook her head.

"Just give it time," her mother told her, reaching up with one hand to gently touch her daughter's hair in a comforting manner. "One day they'll see what a wonderful girl you are. You'll see. Then they won't be able to stay away from you."

"Mom..." Miku groaned in embarrassment, closing her eyes.

"I'm sorry," her mother apologized, lowering her hand and taking Miku's once more. "You were telling me about what happened. Please, continue."

Miku sighed and opened her eyes, preparing to tell her mother about the disastrous trip to the Host Club, but her words died in her throat when she found herself looking straight at the very person who was the root cause of all her recent problems.

"Kyouya?" she said, diverting her mother's attention to the boy standing just outside the doorway of the room.

Kyouya stiffened slightly when she caught him watching them. He had planned to continue on his way once he discerned whose voice he had heard coming from within that room, but for some reason he found himself sticking around. He wasn't normally the type to eavesdrop on other people's conversations – unless the topic of discussion was business-related – but a part of him was curious to see what she had to say about everything that had transpired over the past several days. He reasoned that perhaps she might say that she didn't blame him for the incident at the Host Club, which would in turn excuse him from having to actually discuss the incident with her face-to-face. However, it seemed nothing was going to prevent him from being forced to do one of the few things he was actually _bad_ at: apologizing.

"Is this someone you know?" Miku's mother asked, looking him over.

"Pardon the intrusion," Kyouya said before Miku could reply, stepping into the room. "I am Kyouya Ootori, a schoolmate of Miku." He bowed slightly as he introduced himself, his right hand placed upon his chest.

"Ootori?" Miku's mother echoed, tilting her head slightly to one side. "Are you related to-"

"Yes," Miku cut her off, standing up from her seat. "He's his younger brother. Their family runs the hospital. Excuse us, please."

She rounded the bottom of her mother's bed and grabbed Kyouya's hand, dragging him back out into the hallway and sliding the door shut behind them. Pausing a moment with her back against the door, she looked up and down the hall to make sure no one was around to hear them before speaking.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him in a loud whisper, her tone of voice slightly annoyed.

"You said so yourself," he replied calmly, "my family runs this hospital."

"I mean, what are you doing _here_, in my mother's room?" she demanded.

"I didn't _know _it was your mother's room," Kyouya informed her. "I merely heard a familiar voice, and so I looked in to see who it was. By the way, why the alias?"

"Alias?" she said, looking confused. Kyouya simply pointed to the name plate beside the door. "Oh, that. It's my mother's maiden name."

"Why not register under her married name?" he asked.

"Not that it's any of your business really," she retorted, "but the last time my mother registered under the name Hirosaka, the entire hospital staff was so eager to dote on her all the time that she could never get any rest. _This_ way, no one knows she's my father's wife and therefore they're not overly enthusiastic about trying to impress her."

"And my brother is her doctor?"

"One of them, yes," Miku answered with a nod. "And yes, he knows who she is. My father wanted her to have the best physicians treating her, and she has them."

Kyouya also nodded, wondering why his brother hadn't mentioned that he was treating the mother of one of his schoolmates. Of course, he assumed it wouldn't have been very prudent of him to reveal such information considering the legal bindings of the patient-doctor confidentiality clause. So he could forgive him for failing to mention that small detail. However, now that he _knew_ about her mother being a patient in one of their hospitals – and a rather seriously ill one, from the look of things – he would have to look further into the situation.

"Well, your mother is in excellent hands," Kyouya assured her. "I am certain she will have a speedy recovery."

He didn't miss the way she tensed when he made that comment, her jaw tightening and her eyes narrowing ever so slightly. She looked almost infuriated, as though he had inadvertently said something insulting rather than offering her his vote of confidence in the abilities of his eldest brother and the rest of the hospital staff in making her mother well again.

"You really shouldn't act like you know everything all the time, Kyouya," she told him, her voice trembling slightly. "Especially when you know nothing _at all_ about the situation."

Kyouya noticed the tears in her eyes just before she turned away from him, sighing heavily. He stood there silently, waiting for her to say something else, but she made no attempt to continue the conversation. Thinking this was as good a time as any, he decided to swallow his pride and do what he had been contemplating since his arrival at the hospital.

"I'm sorry about what I said at the Host Club," he told her. "It was completely rude of me. I was out of line, and I sincerely apologize."

Miku looked at him out of the corner of her eye, attempting to judge the actual sincerity of his apology. A part of her knew he was likely only doing it because of his obligations to the Host Club. However, he _was_ making an effort to at least _try_ to seem genuinely apologetic, so she decided it would be best to just forgive him and let the entire incident just be over with.

"Alright," she told him, turning her head to face him once more. "I forgive you."

He smiled at her and Miku suddenly knew she couldn't hate him, even if he _wasn't_ really sincere in his apology. Every time she looked into his eyes, her heart skipped a beat. Each time he smiled at her, she felt her knees go weak. Whenever he was near her, she wanted him to be closer.

"By the way," Kyouya said, breaking her reverie, "you look very nice. Come to school like this more often, and you'll have the boys tripping all over themselves as they try to get near to you."

Miku sighed and turned away from him again. He was turning on the charm, trying to win her over. She knew he wasn't really hitting on her, though. No doubt, he simply wanted to make sure she wouldn't say or do anything that would be detrimental to his reputation or to the operations of the Host Club. She was angry at the false sincerity of his compliment, but even more angry with the part of her that felt a little glimmer of hope that he might actually think she really was attractive.

"Save it," she told him, her voice holding a slight edge. "Leave the false compliments to Tamaki from now on. At least _he_ makes them seem real."

Kyouya blinked in surprise at her reaction, completely at a loss for words, and simply watched as she went back into her mother's room, closing the door once more behind her. He really _did_ think she looked nice, but supposed maybe he went a tad overboard by adding the comment about how she should come to school looking like that more often. Sighing heavily, he pinched the bridge of his nose and continued down the hallway, wondering if he would ever understand women the way Tamaki did.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Miku let out a tired sigh and stifled a yawn behind one hand as she ambled down the hallway toward her classroom, almost regretting not staying home again for the day in order to catch up on her sleep. She had been at the hospital until the end of visiting hours the previous evening, then spent most of the night up studying and making up the work she had missed in her classes that day in school. After all, part of the agreement her father had with the superintendent stipulated that she would be permitted to miss classes in order to attend to matters pertaining to her mother's medical condition so long as she made up all of the work she missed and kept her grades at an acceptable level. To her father, that meant she had to do nothing less than her very best in spite of being utterly exhausted and thoroughly anxious about her mother's failing health.

"Good morning, Miku-chan!" Honey called cheerfully as he and Mori walked past her on the way to their own class, beaming gleefully as he practically skipped along next to his stoic companion. Miku barely acknowledged his presence, nodding almost imperceptibly without even so much as glancing in his direction. Honey stopped in his tracks, turning his head as he watched her plodding away from them, his brow furrowing and his lips pouting slightly.

"She looks sad, huh?" he asked his companion.

"Un," Mori grunted his non-committal reply. Honey looked up at him, a grin slowly reforming on his face as his eyes lit up once more.

"I know!" he exclaimed, balling his hands into fists and pumping them up and down triumphantly before him, his voice high-pitched in excitement. "Let's invite her to join us for tea and cake this afternoon at the Host Club. That always cheers me up!"

He began taking a step toward the direction Miku had wandered off in, but Mori's hand shot out and caught his shoulder before his foot even hit the floor. Frowning in confusion, he twisted his neck to look back up at the taller boy, silently asking him why he stopped him from going over to talk to her. Mori simply shook his head and raised his other hand, pointing a finger down the hall. Honey looked back down the hallway, his gaze following the line of Mori's finger until his eyes fell upon what Mori had seen before him: Kyouya was gradually making his way toward Miku, smiling at the girls who fawned over him as he passed by and politely excusing himself as he walked through a group of first-years standing around sending text messages on their cell phones.

He walked with a silent resolve, determined to once and for all put things right between them. He had tried to do just that the previous day when he had run into her at the hospital, but somehow he managed to commit another faux pas – which he was still trying to determine, himself – and made Miku upset with him once again. Knowing full well that if he _didn't_ put things right Tamaki would relentlessly get on his case until he _did_, he decided to take matters into his own hands and present a sort of peace offering to the girl before Tamaki could get a chance to begin ranting at him again about his duties to the Host Club once he got to class.

He continued weaving his way through the crowded hallway, graciously greeting each young woman he passed with a smile and a 'good morning' in response to their own greetings, which were usually hard to discern due to the excited squeals that accentuated their speech patterns. Mentally, he was rolling his eyes at all of them. Two years ago, he could have walked down any hallway he wanted without causing such a scene. There were still certain girls who fancied him, but they had been content to stand off the the side and chatter away quietly amongst themselves rather than make a huge display in his presence. Now, thanks to the popularity of the Host Club, he – along with all the other hosts – had been vaulted to a sort of celebrity status within the microcosm of Ouran High School. It was rather annoying, to someone who preferred to keep to himself, but Kyouya dealt with it for two reasons. First, because by providing company to the young ladies who attended the school, he had gained numerous valuable contacts in virtually every field, which would come in handy a great deal once he completed his university courses and began his work as an heir of the Ootori family. The second reason was simply to placate Tamaki's childish whims and keep him happy, both for the benefit of their future professional relationship as well as that of their current personal relationship. Even though he would never openly admit it, Tamaki _was_ his best friend – and the _only _friend he ever really had, if he was entirely honest.

Taking a deep breath, he strutted determinedly up behind Miku and tapped her shoulder. She turned slowly to look at him, her face drawn and pale, dark circles under her eyes, and he couldn't help but blink in surprise at her appearance.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked her automatically, reaching up to feel her forehead. Miku reached up and swatted his hand away, ducking under his touch and giving him an annoyed look.

"I'm _fine_," she insisted. "I just didn't get much sleep last night."

Kyouya nodded in reply, clearing his throat a bit awkwardly as he reached up and straightened his tie and adjusted his glasses. He very nearly broke one of his own rules: Never touch a girl unless she touches you first. And for what reason? Because his extensive medical knowledge had made him concerned about the well-being of a girl he barely knew, who as far as he knew was currently angry with him. He should have known better than to touch her, and he'd done it _twice_ in the matter of a few seconds.

"Forgive me for my forwardness," he told her, bowing slightly in apology. "I merely saw your appearance and thought you might be falling ill."

"Oh really?" she asked him, crossing her arms over her chest and looking at him a bit indignantly. Kyouya winced inwardly as he realized how that comment must have sounded to her, but kept his outward appearance completely collected. He didn't want to show her any weakness by letting her know how flustered he was getting.

"What I mean to say," he corrected himself, "is that you looked like you weren't feeling well. I meant no insult toward your physical appearance, whatsoever. In fact, I happen to think you can be a rather attractive girl when you put some effort into it."

"Uh-huh," Miku replied, turning away from him with a sigh and continuing down the hallway toward her class.

"Miss Hirosaka, wait," he called after her, stopping her in her tracks. He stepped up behind her once again and opened his school bag, pushing aside a few textbooks and his notebook full of information for the Host Club, keeping an eye on her to make sure she didn't take off again as he continued speaking.

"I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I realize it was incredibly rude of me to eavesdrop on your private conversation with your mother, and that I also said some things that were entirely out of line."

Miku slowly turned to look at him, her interest piqued. Not only was Kyouya Ootori apologizing to her once again, he was also doing it _publicly_, under the watchful eye of numerous students – including some of the very same girls she had witnessed fawning over him at the Host Club.

"You _do_ realize that people are watching us, don't you?" she asked him, raising an eyebrow. "I mean... they might, you know, _talk_."

Kyouya sighed heavily, closing his eyes and reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose. Even when he attempted to be sincerely apologetic and make a peace offering, she had to make things difficult. He originally thought that dealing with her would be difficult, but no more difficult than dealing with most every member of the female species. However, it seemed he grossly miscalculated things. He had counted on her infatuation with him to assist in helping him smooth things over with her, but apparently that wasn't going to happen.

"Will you please just let me finish saying what I need to say?" he asked her, hiding his annoyance with a practiced ease. Miku stared at him silently for a moment, then wordlessly waved her hand to signal for him to continue.

"I wanted you to have this," he told her, pulling a book out of his bag and holding it out to her with both hands, presenting it as a formal gift.

"Why?" she asked him, her eyebrows drawn together in confusion as she looked at the book's cover and discovered it was a medical text about systematic disorders.

"I thought it might assist you in your quest to be of help to your mother," he explained, extending it a bit more toward her in hopes that she would take it from him. Miku raised an eyebrow again and hesitantly took the book from him, opening the front cover and flipping through the first few pages to skim the table of contents.

"Thank you," she told him quietly. Kyouya nodded and continued to speak.

"I figured, with her condition, you might be able to-"

"With her condition?" Miku echoed, her head snapping up as her eyes went from reading to staring at him accusingly. "How do you even _know_ about her condition?"

Kyouya closed his mouth as she cut him off mid-sentence, swallowing a little nervously. He had completely forgotten that she hadn't told him anything about her mother's exact condition. Thinking quickly, he put on a smile and laughed good-naturedly at her question.

"The day we first met, you were after a book on cardiology," he reminded her.

"And how do you know that had _anything_ at all to do with my mother's illness?" she questioned him. "I could merely have been studying cardiology for my own personal reference."

Kyouya awkwardly shifted on his feet under her scrutinizing gaze, knowing full well he had been caught in a lie. He figured he could _try_ to explain it away, but she would likely see right through any well-presented excuse he gave for knowing what he did about her mother's physical condition.

"Your brother told you, didn't he?" she accused before he could say anything. "I swear to God, if he did, I will have his license suspended for violating doctor-patient confidentiality."

"No, he didn't tell me anything," Kyouya replied quickly. The last thing he wanted was to cause trouble for his older brother, mostly because it would reflect badly upon himself and give his father even _more_ of a reason to _not_ consider him a candidate for inheriting the family business.

"Then how did you know?" Miku asked him again, taking a step closer and pointing a finger in his face. Normally, the gesture wouldn't have affected him in the slightest, but something about the look in her eyes caused him to reflexively swallow in nervousness.

"I hacked into the hospital's mainframe and downloaded her medical files," he admitted.

"Great," Miku said in mock cheerfulness, stepping back away from him and forcing a smile. "You just _can't _keep your nose out of other people's business, can you? You have to know _everything_ about _everyone_. It's like, some sort of _obsession_ with you, isn't it?"

The volume of her voice kept rising as she spoke until she was practically yelling at him. Kyouya looked around, his eyes widening slightly in horror as he realized that everyone in the hallway had stopped what they were doing to turn and watch the two of them. What was supposed to be a peaceful reconciliation had just turned into a publicity nightmare for himself, as well as the Host Club. Returning his gaze to Miku, he opened his mouth to make an attempt at calming her down, but she merely ignored him and continued on with her rant.

"You really need to learn when to just keep your need to know everyone's dirty little secrets in check, Kyouya," she spat at him, her bottom lip shaking slightly. "It's not necessary for you to know _every damn thing_ about a person's private life just because they had the misfortune to cross paths with you." She paused, taking a deep breath, and clenched her fists at her sides as she let out a frustrated growl, shutting her eyes tightly against the tears that were threatening to fall.

"I wish... I wish I had never _met_ you!" she yelled before turning on her heel and storming off down the hallway toward her classroom. The other students quickly moved to get out of her way as she passed by, not wanting to become additional recipients of the wrath that Kyouya had just been subjected to.

As she walked away, Kyouya remained frozen in place, just watching her retreating form. He had _never_ been spoken to like that by anyone before, especially not by a girl. It was a new experience for him, and certainly one he wasn't prepared to deal with. There was one thing he knew for sure, though: If he didn't fix this quickly, his reputation was bound to take a hit. Forcing a good-natured laugh, he turned to a nearby group of girls and flashed them an embarrassed smile, running a hand back through his hair. They immediately squealed in delight at being paid attention to by the vice president of the Host Club, and within a few seconds the hallway was once again alive with the sound of students chattering and getting ready for their classes. Sighing in relief, Kyouya continued on his way to his own class, dreading having to face Tamaki and what he knew would be a virtual Spanish Inquisition concerning his attempts at making nice with Miku Hirosaka.


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Note: Just wanted to let those who have been receiving alerts for this story know that this is the last chapter I'm going to be posting, for now. Sorry for flooding your inbox!

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Ten<span>

Haruhi stood just inside the entrance of the cafeteria, holding her bento box before her as she scanned the crowded lunch room in search of Miku Hirosaka. Normally, she would have preferred to eat her lunch in the quiet solitude of the classroom, but Hikaru and Kaoru had dragged her along with them to the cafeteria at Tamaki's request.

"Now, let's go over this one more time," the Host King said as he stepped up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You will go talk to Miku-chan and smooth things over concerning her earlier argument with Kyouya."

"I still think _Kyouya-senpai_ should be the one doing this, not me," Haruhi grumbled, casting a sideways glance at her companion.

"You saw how well that worked out _last_ time," Hikaru and Kaoru stated simultaneously as they brought up the rear, shrugging helplessly.

"You suggested before that Kyouya-senpai should be the one to apologize to her," Kaoru reminded her.

"And he just ended up making things worse, in the end," Hikaru concluded.

"But why _me_?" Haurhi complained. "Why do _I_ have to be the one who has to clean up this mess?"

"Because," the twins answered, "she's inexplicably immune to our charms."

"And what about you, Tamaki-senpai?" she asked, turning to the man in question. "Why don't _you_ do it, since you're the president, and all?"

"Because I must observe your interaction with the subject," Tamaki replied with an authoritative air. "In the case that you are unable to fulfill your duties, I will have to step in and attempt to rectify the situation myself."

"Then why not just go over there and take care of it _yourself_, to begin with?" Haruhi argued.

"Just go," Tamaki replied, giving her a gentle push forward.

Haruhi tripped slightly on her feet and turned back to glare at him, only to find that he and the twins were nowhere to be found. She knew better than to think that they had actually left, however. They were likely hiding somewhere nearby so that they could spy on her as she made an attempt to bring peace to a situation that she, for one, didn't feel they had any right to intrude in.

Sure, it had sort of been her idea all along to try to fix Miku and Kyouya up, but she had heard all about the incident in the hall that morning from the twins, who had happened to catch the blow-up on their way to class that morning. Quite frankly, Haurhi felt Kyouya had it coming and that Miku was right for putting him in his place where so many others simply fawned over him or trembled in fear at standing up to him because they didn't want to hurt their business relations with his family. For as nice as he was at times, at others he could be a selfish jerk who only looked out for his own interests and thought nothing of the feelings of those around him. Perhaps she could use her dislike of that particular trait of his as a means of getting a foot in the door to negotiate peace with Miku.

"Hey, Miku," she greeted the girl as she approached her table, offering her a friendly smile. "Mind if I join you?"

Miku looked up from her lunch, fork halfway to her mouth, and craned her neck in order to check behind Haruhi and see if any of the other Host Club members were there.

"Just you?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as she returned her attention to the girl standing before her.

"Just me," Harhui assured her, offering her a smile as she nodded her head.

"Okay, then," Miku agreed, and she began moving her things in order to make more room for Haruhi to spread out her bento.

"Thanks," Haruhi said as she sat down, glancing over her shoulder. She finally spotted Tamaki and the twins hiding behind a large pillar nearby, and she rolled her eyes as the three of them gave her a thumbs-up.

"I heard about what happened this morning," she told Miku as she turned back to the table and began unpacking her lunch.

"Don't tell me," Miku groaned. "You're going to lecture me about what I did, too?"

"Why would I want to lecture you?" Haruhi asked, blinking in confusion.

"Because it seems to be all I'm hearing from people today," Miku told her, violently stabbing at a piece of chicken on her plate with her fork. "I even had two girls tell me I should write a formal letter of apology to Kyouya."

"Well, I'm not here to lecture you," Haruhi informed her as Miku shoved the piece of chicken into her mouth and began viciously chewing. "I was actually going to praise you."

This time it was Miku's turn to look confused. She suddenly stopped chewing, eyes wide, and swallowed after a moment of stunned silence.

"Excuse me?"

Haruhi sighed a bit, propping her head in one of her hands as she picked up a piece of omelet with her chopsticks and pointed it at her.

"You had _every right_ to be angry with him, Miku," she said, her voice holding a slight edge of its own. "Kyouya-senpai thinks he can get away with invading people's privacy just because of who he is. And the only reason he _does _get away with it is because everyone's so afraid of losing their connections to his family by standing up to him. I'm glad someone finally put him in his place, for once."

"Wow, " Miku said, surprised. "I thought you two were friends."

"We are," Harhui replied, nodding, "but that doesn't mean I like everything about the guy."

Miku nodded in understanding, and a comfortable silence fell over the two of them as they continued eating. Miku asked Haruhi what she had brought for lunch, then lamented having to buy the school's overly extravagant lunches every day, saying she missed the days when she used to bring her own bento to school.

"Why don't you make one and bring it tomorrow, then?" Haruhi suggested. "We could eat them together in the courtyard."

"I'm afraid I'm not very skilled at cooking," Miku sheepishly admitted. "My mother used to make them for me when I was in middle school, but she's too sick now."

"I see," Haruhi said, the wheels in her head already turning.

"Haruhi," the twins whispered loudly from their hiding place, drawing her attention toward them and Tamaki.

"The Renaissance Faire," Tamaki whispered just as loudly. "Get her to come to the Renaissance Faire."

"I'm not going," Miku said, loud enough so the three of them would hear. Her eyes turned in their direction and they immediately looked guilty at having been discovered. Tamaki was the first to recover, stepping out from behind the pillar and around the twins, his most charming smile playing upon his lips.

"And why ever not, princess?" he asked, coming to stand by Miku's chair, taking her hand in his and bringing it to his lips as he gave her a seductive look. "It would not be worth having such a gallant affair if a woman of such beauty were not present."

"Then _don't_ have it," Miku told him sternly as she pulled her hand out of his grasp.

"It would mean a lot to me if you go," Haruhi interjected before Tamaki could go off on one of his 'woe-is-me' rants in a vain attempt to gain Miku's favor. The Host King looked at her, blinking in surprise. She had been quite vocal about not wanting to force Miku into going to the Renaissance Faire, so it was a bit of a shock for her to change her tone so suddenly.

"I would hate to be the only _sane_ person there," she added, casting a glance at him and the twins.

Miku sighed softly, then quietly considered the other girl's request before nodding in agreement, causing the three boys to cheer loudly.

"You won't regret this, Princess!" Tamaki promised, grabbing both of her hands in his and leaning down to put himself at eye level with her. "I promise, it will be an event to remember for the rest of your life."

"I'm not planning on participating in any of your club's little shenanigans," Miku informed him, pulling her hands out of his. "The _only_ reason I'm going is to visit Haruhi so she can have a brief reprieve from your insanity."

"That's what _you_ think," Hikaru muttered under his breath, earning a sharp jab in the ribs from Kaoru's elbow. He looked at his brother to find him giving him a warning glare as he brought a finger to his lips to remind him that their plan was supposed to be a secret.

"What did you just say?" Miku asked, and Hikaru turned to her with a beaming grin on his face.

"Just that it's a shame you won't be taking part in any of the special events we have planned," he lied, pushing Tamaki aside and taking his place before her. He gently grasped one of her hands and bent down to place a kiss on the backs of her fingers, then looked up at her and smiled once more – ignoring Tamaki as he complained that he was being a copycat. "We were so looking forward to seeing you in one of the dresses our mother made for the ball."

"In fact," Kaoru added, draping his arm across the back of her chair as he leaned down to whisper in her ear, "we had already decided which one would suit you best."

Miku cringed as the sound of high-pitched, girly squealing assaulted her ears, and she looked around Kaoru to find several dozen girls milling about, watching them all intently. Rolling her eyes, she pushed back her chair and stood from the table, then began gathering up her eating utensils and placing them on her tray.

"I'm sorry to eat and run, Haruhi," she apologized, "but I suddenly have a splitting headache."

"Oh... Alright," Haruhi said, nodding slightly. She watched as Miku quickly retreated from the table, then sighed as she turned her attention back to the three boys standing before her.

"See what you three did?" she accused them, her eyes narrowed into slits.

"What?" Tamaki asked with wide eyes, as oblivious as ever.

"If you keep making her feel uncomfortable like that, you'll never get her and Kyouya-senpai together in the same room," she informed them as she gathered her bento and stood from her seat.

"Ye of little faith," Hikaru said, grinning confidently.

"It's only a matter of time until she breaks down and gives in to our charms," Kaoru added, identical smile in place.

"Newsflash," Haruhi told them, tying the cloth around her bento into a sharp knot, "it's not _you_ who should be worried about charming her. In fact, I doubt your 'charms' will _ever _work on her. _Kyouya-senpai_ is the one she's interested in, not you."

"That's why we have to make her fall for us," they stated, in unison.

"So that she'll do whatever we say," Kaoru said.

"Then we can easily get her to confess to Kyouya-senpai during the ball," Hikaru concluded.

Haruhi rolled her eyes. "Like I said, it won't work."

"Why not?" they both asked her, defiantly crossing their arms over their chests.

"How can you be so sure?" Tamaki asked curiously. He had been sure the twins' plan to charm Miku into confessing her feelings to Kyouya had been solid and foolproof, but now he was beginning to have doubts.

"Because when you have feelings for someone, you only have eyes for them," Haruhi blurted out as her eyes turned to him, then she immediately blushed and averted her gaze away from his face.

"Trust me, I know," she added quietly before clearing her throat a bit and returning her attention to Hikaru and Kaoru. "If you want to make her confess to Kyouya-senpai, you're going to have to come up with a different plan. One that _doesn't_ involve using one of the other Host Club members to manipulate her, because I guarantee it won't work."

Tamaki blinked as he watched her walk away. Had she just... sort of confessed to liking him? No, it wasn't possible. Her embarrassment was likely just due to having an outburst like that in public. Haurhi was a rather private individual, after all, and she had been the one who constantly stressed the importance of secrecy in their current matchmaking operation. She was probably just mad at herself for doing something that might cause any number of the group of girls who had been watching them from afar to gossip about their conversation. That had to be it.

Speaking of which: It was time for him to do a little spin control.

"Ladies!" he cried out, turning to them with arms wide, a beaming smile in place. "I have wonderful news!"

_Time to go to Plan B_, he thought to himself. Since Haruhi had shot down the twins' plan, it seemed he was going to have to take matters into his own hands. And while he wasn't as skilled a manipulator as Kyouya himself was, he had learned a thing or two from his best friend over the years in the art of coercing others into doing what he wanted.

"There is going to be a very special contest during the Renaissance Faire," he announced once he had all of the girls in the room listening in rapturous attention. "Seven _very_ lucky princesses will win the honor of being escorted to the closing ball by their favorite members of the Host Club, while dressed in gowns created _exclusively_ for the event by none other than Madam Hitachiin!"

Hikaru and Kaoru smiled and bowed at the mention of their mother's name, turning to each other and whispering as the girls in the room erupted in cheers and applause at Tamaki's announcement.

"Did he say anything about this to you?" Hikaru asked his brother.

"No," Kaoru replied. "I think he's just winging it, now."

Tamaki went over to the two of them, still grinning, and put his arms around their shoulders as he leaned down to speak to them.

"I know what we're going to do to get Miku and Kyouya together, don't worry," he told them in a low voice. The twins couldn't help but exchange a look with one another, each of them knowing exactly what the other was thinking in that very moment.

_Easier said than done._


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Kyouya stood frozen in the doorway of the Third Music Room, his hand still on the doorknob as he stared at the sight before him. He had expected to be the first to arrive, as usual, but instead of finding a dark, empty room he had walked in to find an utter mess and uncontrolled chaos. This was what he got for leaving campus for the afternoon to attend to the planning for Tamaki's most recent pet project.

Scraps of colored paper littered the floor, along with various artificial flowers and ribbons, while a pile of rhinestones glittered on one of the tables. Kyouya turned from the mess to who he was sure was the culprit and found Tamaki sitting on his usual sofa. His hair was disheveled, his face covered in paint splotches of various colors, and he had his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth in concentration. Kyouya's eyes narrowed and he approached him – momentarily pausing as Honey ran past holding a piece of sheer fabric high above his head, allowing it to trail after him as he went – stopping to stand behind the sofa with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Tamaki," he addressed the blonde, but received no answer. Sighing, Kyouya looked over the back of the sofa to see what was so important that it required Tamaki's full attention and concentration.

Sitting before him was a box. It appeared to have once been a mere shoebox, but it had been decorated with gold paint and had artificial red roses glued to the corners of the top and little crowns drawn on it with glitter. Tamaki was currently working on creating a heart with magenta sequins on the top of the box, around a letter T that had been made out of diamond-colored rhinestones.

"_What _is this?" Kyouya demanded, his voice booming. The others all stopped what they were doing to turn their attention to him, and Tamaki finally looked up from his little art project.

"Ah, Kyouya!" he greeted his friend, grinning and holding up the box he had been working on decorating. "I decided we should have a raffle at the Renaissance Faire, so we're busy decorating our own boxes for the entrants to put their names in."

"A raffle?" Kyouya asked in a low voice. "Why didn't you consult me first?"

"Don't worry," Tamaki told him, ignoring his tone. "I had Hikaru and Kaoru make one for you, too."

The twins suddenly popped up before him, holding up another box. This one was painted dark purple, and had black lace glued to the outside rim of the box top. A silver K had been painted on top of the lid, surrounded by a heart made out of artificial black pearls – at least he _hoped _they were artificial, as real ones would have put a rather large dent in the club's activities budget.

"This place is a complete mess," he said, his tone still stern. "The customers will be here in less than half an hour. I suggest you all stop screwing around and get this place cleaned up before they arrive."

He took off his glasses and looked pointedly at the twins as he took out his handkerchief and began cleaning the lenses, causing them to swallow hard in fear of his wrath. They immediately saluted him and scurried off to start cleaning up the room, and Mori caught Honey as he was making another round of the room with his makeshift banner flying behind him.

"What is it Takashi?" he asked, his wide brown eyes blinking in confusion.

"Time to clean up, Mitsukuni, or else Kyouya won't let you have any cake today."

Honey immediately joined the twins in cleaning up the room, not wanting to be deprived of his favorite afternoon treat, and Mori quietly began picking up the art supplies on the table he had been seated at.

"I guess I should help them," Tamaki stated, standing up from his sofa. Kyouya's hand shot out, grabbing him by the collar of his jacket and yanking him back so he fell onto the sofa once more. Tamaki let out a squeak as he landed, holding up the box he had been decorating in front of his face as a makeshift shield when he saw Kyouya rounding the side of the sofa to stand before him.

"Explain," Kyouya demanded, putting his glasses back on.

"W-Well," Tamaki started, slowly lowering the box and setting it in his lap, "I had an idea."

"Yes?" Kyoya prompted, arms crossing over his chest once more.

"The attendees of the Renaissance Faire will get the opportunity to be escorted to the Royal Ball by their favorite host," Tamaki explained. "They enter by putting their name into the box of the host they want to be their personal Prince for the evening. Of course, there is a price: Ten-thousand yen per entry, and they can put their name in as many times as they want as long as they pay for each one."

"Interesting," Kyouya said, his stance relaxing considerably once he heard that there would be a price attached to the entries. "And I suppose we randomly choose the winners at the close of the Faire's daytime activities?"

"Exactly!" Tamaki replied, grinning. "The twins have already spoken to their mother about creating matching outfits for each of us and our prospective winners."

"You do realize that this is going to create even _more_ work for me, arranging this little raffle?" Kyouya asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"Nonsense," Tamaki said, brushing off his concern with a wave of his hand. "The biggest part of the operation was creating the boxes for the entries, and we've already gotten almost all of them done. Haruhi just needs to make hers, and then everyone will be covered."

"And who will be responsible for taking the entry fees and making sure no one is cheating by stuffing the boxes with extra ballots?" Kyouya wondered.

"The twins volunteered to be in charge of running the stand for the raffle," Tamaki told him. "Don't worry, Kyouya, I already took everything into consideration. You don't have to lift a finger for this."

Kyouya regarded him suspiciously. It was extremely rare that Tamaki took the initiative for _any_ planning stages during one of their events. The fact that he had gone to such lengths for this particular little endeavor gave him reason to think that the self-appointed Host King was up to something.

"Don't look at me like that," Tamaki said after a moment.

"What's the catch?" Kyouya demanded.

"There is none," Tamaki assured him. "I just know how hard you've been working to arrange things for this event, and I figured I would take full responsibility for this raffle to help you out. Besides," he added, standing from the sofa and brushing some glitter off of his jacket, "would you have agreed to let me do it otherwise?"

"Probably not," Kyouya conceded, then let out a heavy sigh. "Very well. I leave this little raffle in your hands. Just make sure Hikaru and Kaoru know not to let any entries slip by without the fee being paid."

Tamaki smiled and nodded. "Alright. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to help the others clean up."

"Actually," Kyouya said, stopping him once more with a hand on his arm, "you should probably focus on getting _yourself_ cleaned up. You have paint all over your face."

Tamaki nodded again and left the music room, intending to make his way to the boys' lavatory down the hall so he could wash his face. He only made it a few feet, however, when he heard the door open once more behind him.

"Tono," Hikaru called in a loud whisper.

Tamaki turned around and made his way back toward the club room, stopping before the twins, who had popped their heads out through the door to speak to him.

"Are we still on?" Hikaru asked once he reached them, still keeping his voice down.

"Yes," Tamaki told him, puffing his chest out proudly. "Did you actually doubt my methods of persuasion? You did what I asked you to, right?"

"Two boxes, as identical as we are," Kaoru replied.

"Good," Tamaki said excitedly, smiling and rubbing his hands together. "And you're sure your mother will be able to finish the costumes for the ball in time?"

"Are you kidding?" they answered in unison.

"She was excited when we told her about it," Hikaru said.

"Couldn't wait to get started on the designs," Kaoru added.

"In fact, she said she'd have them all finished by tomorrow morning," they concluded.

"Most excellent," Tamaki said, his smile getting even bigger. "You know what you two have to do to make our plan work. I'm trusting you to get it done."

"Yes, sir!" they replied, saluting him before disappearing back into the club room.

Tamaki sighed happily and turned around to continue on his way to the restroom, bumping into Haruhi, who was on her way to the club room to make her usual preparations for their guests.

"Ah, Haruhi!" he greeted her, gently grasping her shoulders to help her balance herself after their collision. "Guess what? We're going to have a raffle at the Renaissance Faire and the winners get to be our dates to the ball."

"That's... nice?" she told him, unsure how to reply. She'd already heard about the entire thing from some of the girls in her class, who couldn't stop talking about it after his announcement earlier that day in the cafeteria.

"It'll be the perfect chance to get Kyouya and Miku together," he told her conspiratorially, winking at her and giggling.

"If you say so," Haruhi replied, side-stepping around him. "Speaking of whom: Is Kyouya-senpai in there already? I needed to talk to him about something."

"Of course," Tamaki told her. "He's always early."

Haruhi thanked him and quickly made her escape into the club room. She still couldn't believe that she had more or less confessed to having feelings for him, even if he had been too oblivious to realize what she was saying. She leaned up against the closed doors after entering the room, her eyes closed, and let out a relieved sigh.

"Haru-chan!"

Haruhi opened her eyes and looked down into Honey's smiling face. He was holding a shoebox up above his head, and he held it out to her in offering.

"What's this for?" she asked as she took the box from him, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Tama-chan said we should all decorate our own boxes for the raffle," he informed her. "Except for Kyo-chan, because he doesn't like arts and crafts. Hika-chan and Kao-chan did his for him."

"I see," Haruhi said, looking around the room for Kyouya and finding a mess of art supplies littering the floor and tables. "Is that what all of this stuff is for?"

"Yep!" Honey replied, grinning. "You can use any of these supplies we got from the art class to make your box super cute and pretty. Just don't forget to put your initials on it so everyone knows it's yours."

"Got it," Haruhi told him with a nod. "By the way, where is Kyouya-senpai?"

"He's over there," Honey told her, pointing to the far corner of the room. Sure enough, Haruhi could see a dark head of hair peeking up over the back of one of the high-backed chairs that Tamaki usually sat in like a throne.

"Thanks," Haruhi said, patting Honey on top of his head before making his way over to where Kyouya was sitting. She sat the shoebox down on a relatively empty table as she went, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves and wiping her slightly sweaty palms on her pants. She had one shot to make this plan work, and if he didn't agree to her request it was doomed to fail.

"Kyouya-senpai?" she carefully addressed him, seeing that he was sitting with his eyes closed and a hand held to his head in exasperation.

"Yes?" Kyouya addressed her without moving.

"I know you've been under a lot of stress lately, with getting everything together for this whole Renaissance Faire, and, well... I was thinking maybe I could do something to help you relax."

Kyouya lowered his hand and opened his eyes, turning to look at her curiously.

"And what, exactly, did you have in mind?"

"A picnic," she told him.

"A picnic?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Haruhi nodded. "I was thinking I could make an extra bento tomorrow and we could eat together out on the lawn. It's supposed to be a beautiful day."

"Just the two of us?" he wondered.

"I figured you might want to get away from Tamaki and the others for a change," she replied. Kyouya simply eyed her quietly, causing her to fidget nervously with the sleeves of her jacket.

"You're right," he finally answered after a long moment of silence. "It would be nice to take a break from all this planning and get away from them all for a little while."

"So I take it that's a yes?" Haruhi asked for her own clarification.

"Yes," Kyouya replied, nodding once.

"Great!" Haruhi said, clasping her hand together and grinning. "I'll meet you outside of your classroom at lunchtime tomorrow."

"Alright," Kyouya replied. "For now, though, would you mind helping the others clean up this mess? I would like the room to be reasonably presentable by the time the customers arrive."

Haruhi nodded and quickly wandered off to help Mori, who was rolling up bolts of sheer fabric on the other side of the room, her grin still firmly in place. Kyouya had agreed to the lunch offer, and so her plan had been successfully set into motion.


End file.
